Amity Park Star
by wfea
Summary: AU. It's been ten years since Danny was adopted by Vlad Masters. Jazz is scarred by the name Danny and wants only to see her brother again. But when she's caught up in a ghost's villainous plot, she has to hope someone can save her from Phantom's lies.
1. Introduction: Patty Craven

**A/N: **Hello, readers. I would like to present to you a story of love, loss, and tragedy.

Or not. Seriously though, I think this is best story I've ever written. You may think differently, but I really really like it. I've worked long and hard on this piece (like, literally, years). I took a huge long break from writing it, then started all over from scratch and actually finished it. Yes, you read that right. This story is finished, so there is NO chance of it mysteriously being put on hiatus half way through!

I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

**Timeline: **AU. Therefore, it doesn't matter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom, or any character related thereof. I shall never own Danny Phantom, or any characters related thereof.

**Quick Note: **Many people don't like stories that feature OCs. This story contains _important _OCs, but the focus isn't necessarily on these OCs. Patty Craven, who begins this story, is the main OC. Hopefully, you will come to love her as I have. Seriously though, even though she starts this story, this isn't how most of the story is. Thank-you!

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**The Amity Park Star**

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Introduction: Patty Craven

* * *

Patty Craven watched the two little children. They were new to her foster home. It was just this month that their parents had given them up for adoption.

Patty shook her head. How could a mother leave her darlings behind so she could go out to hunt ghosts? How did that make sense? Patty didn't know and didn't want to speculate at the moment. The children were talking.

"They're coming back, right Jazz?" four year old Danny Fenton asked his six year old sister. He was holding two pictures. One was of Jazz and Danny. The other was of their parents.

"Course, Danny," Jazz answered. Patty saw the look in her eyes though. Even though Jazz was a mere six year old, she was smart—very smart. Smart enough that, in fact, Patty wouldn't have been surprised if she had already figured out her parents were not coming back. "They wouldn't leave us behind forever."

Jazz was smart enough to know that her little brother didn't need the facts right then. He needed to be encouraged.

Patty put on a big smile for the children—five in all—and announced, "Supper is ready!"

Four sets of happy feet scuttled across the floor. From upstairs, Patty heard a loud thumping as thirteen year old Hannah Elizabeth responded to the dinner call.

After a hearty dinner, Patty was playing with the three youngest children, which included the two newest ones, when a knock sounded at the door.

"Excuse me partner, but I need to answer that there door if ya don't mind it," Patty told seven year old Ryan, who currently had her locked up in an old western jail.

"NO! Never! Don't let the prisoner escape!" Ryan ordered the other two.

"Ryan," Patty warned, returning to her normal voice.

For a moment, Ryan looked as if he were going to retort, but he knew it was a useless plea that would get him sent to the corner. Instead, he moved out of Patty's way just as the visitor knocked again.

Patty had a pretty good idea of who was at the door. It was someone wishing to adopt. Patty had gotten a call from a social worker earlier that morning telling her that a—oh, what word did she use?—unique candidate was coming by to see the children.

As soon a Patty opened the door, she understood what the woman on the phone had meant by the word unique. This was not the kind of person one expected to be interested in adopting. The person had not even opened his mouth yet, and Patty already knew this would be a strange experience.

_I suppose that's the first thing, _Patty thought. _It's a man. Not a woman, not a couple, just a man._

"Hello," Patty greeted before any more awkward seconds of silence slipped through.

"Hello, Miss, how are you?" The response almost sent Patty to the ground. His voice—it was so precise and so...so...elegant? Yes, elegant. Elegant summed the guy up completely in Patty's opinion. The man was wearing a fine, crisp suit, and his white hair (which looked oddly out of place for his age) was bright and pulled back nicely into a flattering pony-tail.

"Very well. And you?" Patty asked, feeling silly in her jeans and button down shirt.

"The same. I believe introductions are in order. My name is Vlad Masters."

Patty smiled and shook his hand. "Patty Craven." A moment of silence passed before Patty remembered herself. "Oh, please, right this way. I believe you are the one the agency called about?"

"Yes, I am," Vlad answered as his hawk-like eyes scoured every inch of the dwelling place.

"Well, she said your situation was unique. Are you...by yourself? I mean, do you intend to raise a child by yourself?" Patty asked.

"Yes, I do." Patty ushered the man into the kitchen, and for thirty minutes they sat and talked over the technical terms and agreements that he insisted he had already covered with the agency.

When she was satisfied, Patty smiled. "If you would come this way..." Patty led the very nice gentlemen into the living room. "The youngest child here is four and the oldest thirteen. What age were you hoping to adopt?"

"Age is not really a matter for me. Tell me, though, the number of boys and girls." Patty happily explained that there were two boys and three girls. Vlad nodded thoughtfully at this.

"Kids, there's someone I want you to meet," Patty called. Jazz, Ryan, and Danny scampered up from their positions on the floor. Hannah and Jessica peeked down from the stairs, exchanged a look, and drifted down the stairs. "Vlad, this is Hannah, Jessica, Jazz, Danny, and Ryan." Patty introduced the children as she moved her gaze down the line. "Jazz and Danny are brother and sister and..." Patty trailed off when she noticed he seemed to not be listening to her anymore.

His attention was completely transfixed on Danny. He was looking at the boy with a sort of intense want in his eyes. The look suggested to Patty that Vlad wanted to adopt Danny, but for some reason, that thought made her uneasy.

Deciding to act now before it was too late, Patty continued her explanation. "Vlad," she began, attempting to pull his attention back to her. It worked. He looked at her with a confused expression plastered on his face. She smiled. "I see you like Danny. Well, he and Jazz are brother and sister, and it would be in the best interest if they were not separated."

Vlad smiled warmly. "Oh, I completely understand, Miss Craven." After he said that he spent a good five minutes with each child, talking to them and asking them questions. Patty sat back and watched, relieved that he seemed not to be focusing only on Danny.

Once finished, Vlad said a few words to Patty and left with a promise of sleeping on his decision.

Patty smiled and hoped for the best.

. . .

Thoroughly shaken, Patty could no longer sleep. She glanced at the clock on Jazz's bedside table. It loudly proclaimed in red block numerals that it was 2:00 AM. Patty sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She figured she might as well get to packing Danny's things.

Patty didn't realize her hand was shaking until she grabbed hold of one of Danny's shirts. _That's odd, _she thought._ Why is this shirt dancing?_ It took her only a moment to deduce that her hand was the thing "dancing."

She gritted her teeth and held back tears as she folded the small shirt and placed it in an open suitcase sitting on the floor. Looking at the child sleeping on the top of the bunk bed, she only wanted to take him and run as far away from this place as possible. She wanted terribly to protect him—but it was a futile hope.

Patty switched her gaze to Jazz, sleeping on the bottom bunk. Would this child grow to hate her? She would. It would be the only plausible direction in which she would grow. No other direction would make sense, not after her brother was gone.

Barely able to contain a sob, Patty went back to her packing.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned normal and beautiful. Five unsuspecting children gathered early to sit down for breakfast. Patty prepared extra pancakes and gave half the batch to Danny. Hannah waved goodbye to Patty around nine o'clock and headed off to an end of the summer pool party with her friends. Ten year old Jessica was subjecting Ryan to playing dress-up with her.

Patty threw her complete attention onto Danny and Jazz, who were still too new and shell-shocked from the abrupt move to be very sociable.

A tugging at her pants brought her attention to Danny.

"Yes?" Patty asked, squatting down to his level so she could look him in the eyes.

"Are you gonna get the door?"

Patty thought the question a strange one until she heard the knock on the door. How long had that been going on? Then Patty realized who it most likely was, and she panicked. He wasn't supposed to be here until late. It was only noon!

A quick glance at the clock revealed it was close to 6:00 PM. _That's not right, _Patty thought. _ We didn't eat lunch._

"Danny, are you hungry? We didn't have lunch." Danny's little eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah we did. You let me have extra sweets."

Patty shook her head. She couldn't remember any part of the day. It had flown by tremendously too fast and now...now nothing would be the same.

The pounding on the door grew more urgent and angry. Patty was going to have to answer it eventually.

She moved toward the door. Jazz chose that moment to ask Patty why Danny's things were all packed up. Patty didn't answer.

Patty wasn't impressed this time by either the sharp suit, perfect hair, or amazingly articulated voice. She noticed things about this man that she hadn't the first time: his eyes, that seemed to hold some possession of evil behind them; his mouth, that was curled up into what Patty had mistaken last time to be a smile. It wasn't though. It was an evil smirk.

"Ah, good evening, Miss Craven, how are you?" Vlad asked, stepping into the house as if he had been invited.

"Not well, thank you," Patty answered in a chipper voice. The answer caused Vlad to turn and look at Patty with a quirked eyebrow. "What? Did you expect me to lie?"

"Frankly, yes." Vlad looked around until his eyes found Danny. A look passed over his face that gave Patty the same uneasy feeling she had felt the night before, and the look suggested to Patty that Vlad would kill to possess that kid.

_Considering what happened last night, I'd say that's a fact._

"You found the money?" Vlad questioned, not taking his eyes off Danny.

"Actually no, I haven't. I haven't done much of anything today, I'm afraid."

At this, Vlad looked a Patty. "You'll find it." He allowed a moment to pass. "Can we please move along with this?"

Unwillingly, Patty obliged and made her way over to Danny. She bent down and ran her hand through his hair.

"Danny, sweetie, this nice man has come to adopt you and take care of you." Danny looked confused for a moment.

Then he asked, "Here?"

"Ah...no honey. He's gong to take you to a new home."

Danny looked up at Vlad, then back to Patty. He shook his tiny head. "I'm okay here."

Patty wanted to swat at the tears pooling in her eyes, but she refused. "It's not a choice, sweetheart."

Danny nodded as if he understood. He looked to Jazz. They linked hands. "Ready," Jazz stated, smiling expectantly.

Patty bit her lip and looked at Vlad. He was simply standing there, giving Patty the privilege of delivering the bad news. She looked back at the siblings, sucked in a breath, and went for the plunge.

"Only Danny is going."

Little eyebrows lowered, and protests erupted.

"No!" "I'm not leaving!" "Danny stays here." "NO!"

Vlad cleared his throat. Patty took that as a sign to hurry. She took hold of Danny and pulled him away from Jazz with little trouble, even though the young girl pulled with all her might.

"Give him back! Give him back!" Jazz yelled. Danny's wailing was now an unintelligible cry. Patty's heart broke, and she could no longer see through her tears.

Vlad ripped Danny out of Patty's arms, and Patty felt like shouting the same thing Jazz just had. Vlad wrapped his arms around the small boy and whispered comforting words. "It's alright. Vlad will take care of you."

No longer caring whether or not any of the kids saw her crying, Patty turned toward the stairs and ran to get Danny's things. She stuck a copy of the two pictures from the day before in Danny's suitcase. _That way they'll both have them._

By the time Patty was back downstairs, Vlad had Danny outside and Jazz was nearly out the door herself. Patty rushed to Jazz. "Honey, you can't," Patty heard herself saying.

Jazz turned around to face Patty, face blazing red. "I hate you!"

Patty sighed. She had known this was going to happen.

Jazz raced around Patty and up the stairs while Patty went out to Vlad's car. Danny was already strapped into a car seat in the back, still bawling his eyes out.

Being sure to take much care of Danny's belongings, Patty set them in the trunk of the car herself. Vlad suddenly appeared beside her. She narrowed her eyes. "You're despicable."

Vlad didn't answer. Instead, he shut the trunk and smirked in Patty's direction. At that moment, as Patty looked into the eyes of evil, she knew without a doubt that this man and the...the thing from last night were one and the same. She didn't understand how it was possible, but she knew it had to be true.

She watched the man drive away until she could no longer see the tail-lights. After that she went back inside, and later that night she found the money stuck underneath the towel she used to dry off with after her shower.

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**A/N: **So, that begins **The Amity Park Star**. Hope you like it! I will anxiously await your thoughts!


	2. Introduction: Jazz and Danny

**A/N: **This first chapter isn't really a chapter—it's actually still part of the introduction. It sets up the back-story and tells about the ten years that have passed since the last chapter (which is also an introduction—though I guess it was really more like a long prologue).

While the first introduction was more like a story, these two introductions are supposed to resemble something like a journal entry. The italics in Jazz's intro is her action, not her "writing."

**Disclaimer: **Anyone who claims that I, wfea, own Danny Phantom is, and always will be, a liar who doesn't know what they are speaking of.

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Introduction: Jazz Fenton

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I don't blame Patty for what happened. Really, I don't. Sure, I blamed her at first, but I really think the only reason I blamed her was because I was too angry to think. All I knew was that someone had to take the blame.

I don't blame anyone now. Not a soul. I don't blame Patty for not fighting harder, myself for not holding on tighter, Danny for not crying louder, or even the man who took my brother away for wanting a child to love.

Who was I to deprive someone of the chance to love? Well, except the kid's sister. Why couldn't the man have taken me too?

_I stopped before I let my mind wander too far away. I was a solid person built on self-control. And never did I let that self control slip. Never did I let my true feelings show. _

_Besides, Patty had explained to me the fact that the man (I refused to be told his name—I was afraid I would attempt to track him down) had been single and unable to take care of another child._

_It wasn't that I thought much about this subject anymore. After all, it had been ten years since Danny was taken. It only popped into my mind once or twice a day now—a vast improvement from every ten minutes._

I like pretending my life is normal. And I suppose it is...sort of. If you don't count the fact that my parents abandoned me when I six, or that my brother and I are separated, or that—well, let's not go there—or that I live in a foster home.

It's weird. After Danny was adopted, Patty never let me be adopted. Of course, I didn't know that's what she was doing at the time, but, seeing as I'm an insightful person, it didn't take long for me to figure it out.

A couple of weeks after Danny left, a couple arrived, seeking to adopt. Patty all but ordered me upstairs and into my room. Twice more, that very same thing happened.

The next time someone came, I stayed at the top of the stairs. I was about eight years old. I listened as Patty explained that there were two kids here. (There were three, including myself.) After a moment, a lady said, "What about her—at the top of the stairs?"

I remember feeling panicked, and I remember the look on Patty's face when she turned to look at me. Horror. Pure, unadulterated horror. She composed herself, turned back to the couple, and lied straight through her teeth.

"That's my daughter."

And that was the last time I ever stayed at the top of the stairs.

Hey, for all I know, Patty did adopt me, and I was her daughter. What else would account for my still being here while other kids have come and gone?

I don't mind though. Patty raised me—in every place that it counted, she was my mother and a much better mother than the one who birthed me (another subject I avoided, at risk of becoming too angry at my parents to function in my day-to-day life). Patty's foster home was home to me.

I was lucky though, that my parents had cared enough to find an adoption agency to put me in. That's what Patty was—a foster mother connected to an adoption agency. At least I wasn't an orphan...

Well, I have to share my home quite a bit. But I never really mind. Actually, I met my best friend Sam Manson through this foster home. She's two years younger than I and had moved in here three years ago after her parents died in a car accident. She never speaks of them, and I never see her express any emotion whatsoever about what happened.

There was one night, though, that I thought I heard her crying in her bedroom. But that was before we were actually friends, and I haven't ever wanted to bring the night up again.

So, all things considered, I suppose I have a pretty good life. I've got a caring foster mom, an erratic but lovable best friend, and a burning desire to see my little brother again.

Really, that's probably the one thing I want most in life—to see Danny again. Oh well, it not like that will ever happen.

* * *

Introduction: Danny Masters

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I think Vlad thinks I have a dim memory...or that I don't have the motivation to remember someone from ten years ago...or that I don't care...or all three.

But none of those thoughts are correct.

Thanks to my being such a stubborn child, I have never forgotten my sister. I like to think she hasn't forgotten me either.

However, the more time I spend with Vlad, the more that hope seems to disappear.

My life is horrible, to put it bluntly. "But Danny, you have a father who loves and cares for you and you live in huge mansions and you get to travel the world. Not to mention you get to see all those cool ghost experiments!"

Humph. Allow me to correct those things in the following way: I have a master who demands everything I have, short of my soul and I'm doomed to live in cavernous houses with basements full of lethal ghost weapons and I'm drug from city to city and country to country. Not to mention...I am one of those experiments.

Vlad adopted me for one reason—I was all he wanted in a minion. He described to me how he had known to pick me ten years ago. He said that the second his eyes landed on me he got a gut feeling that I would be the one to help him take over the world.

No, I don't really think he could've known all that from one glance, but I have to admit that ten years, six towns, and five hostages later we seemed to make a good team.

Of course, it's not like we've been doing dirty work ever since he adopted me. The first year after he brought me "home" he simply allowed me to get used to the place. He wouldn't allow me to go anywhere in the house by myself though—he figured I would get lost. I probably would have too; the place was so huge!

After the first year, Vlad began dragging me down to his lab and experimenting on me. Of course, he didn't use a big, long word like "experiment" when I was five, but that's what he was doing. Before long, I was half a ghost and Vlad was training me to be like him. (I still don't know where Vlad got his powers.)

At the end of three years of practice, I wasn't bad for a eight year old. I had not seen the outside world since I was four, and had nearly forgotten about it. I had no clue that there were people in the world that weren't half-ghost.

It was when I was ten that Vlad began getting mean. If I didn't grasp a concept the first time he taught it, I was scolded. If I didn't get it a second time, I got a harsher scolding. If I didn't get it the third, I was beaten. It didn't take me very long to learn that I was not to fail three times in a row.

Suddenly, every aspect of my life with Vlad followed that rule. Master—as I was to begin calling him—did not expect to have to ask for something more than three times. If he had to ask three times, I was beaten. That's why I have a scar on my right arm—one time he had gotten just a little too angry that I had failed three times in a row and had decided to burn my arm. By the time I was eleven, I was bowing before Vlad whenever I wished to speak with him or him with me.

We began capturing hostages when I was twelve. We traveled from town to town and even to another country, searching for the "Points," as Vlad called them. He never actually explained what we were doing, but I managed to form a pretty good guess:

We were collecting the five "Points" and one "Star" because they would yield great power to Vlad, and he would then use that power to take over the world.

Vlad makes me do all the hard parts: the fighting, the kidnapping, and whatever else there is that can be called actual work.

Oh well. What else can I do but obey Master, right?

Anyway, we're nearly done with our job. We have the five Points. All we have left to find is the Star. It shouldn't be hard. Vlad has a tracker that he used to locate the direction of the Points. I'm sure he'll use the same thing with the Star, and we'll find him or her in a couple of days and be done.

We're actually nearly in the new town at the moment.

I feel sad that the Star has to die.

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**A/N: **And so the stage is set for the **Amity Park Star **to truly begin! Give me your thoughts please!


	3. Chapter 1: Normal

**A/N: **Thanks to all my reviewers! I'm excited about finally getting chapter one out to y'all! And remember, it's been ten years since the first introduction so the characters are the age they are in the actual show.

I would've gotten this up yesterday, but FanFiction was being stupid...or maybe it was just my computer. Oh well, I may be out of town, but here y'all go!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Chapter One: Normal

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**Jazz**

_Today, I will make the most of my life. I will smile and be nice. I will make the most of every opportunity and not be underestimated. Nothing will stop me from making a difference. Nothing will stop me from doing what's right._

"Okay, please explain this, Sam," I demanded as I handed the paper I had just read back to my best friend.

"This, Jazz, is what I'm going to tell Patty I chanted every morning before school. I'm going to use this as an excuse when she finds out about the mice," Sam explained.

"How will this help you?" I asked as I put the car in reverse and started backing out of my school parking space.

"I can tell her that when I saw the poor, defenseless mice were about to be eaten by ferocious snakes that my chant made me want to do the right thing. Hey, I wonder if that would work on Mrs. Poppy..."

I let Sam run off into her own schemes as I thought of poor Mrs. Poppy, the biology teacher at school whose room resembled something closer to a zoo than a classroom. Her favorite exhibit was her snakes. Sometimes she let us watch when she fed them.

Today was one of those days. I wasn't in her class this year, but Sam was. Before Mrs. Poppy got to class (she was delayed because Sam paid another student to get Mrs. Poppy out of the classroom for a few minutes), Sam managed to free the mice before they were subjected to being snake food.

No one rated her out out...at least, not yet.

"Patty won't care, though." I tuned back in to Sam's ramblings just has she seemed to make it full circle. "She cares about the little people, and she'll stick up for me."

"Do you really believe that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sam shot me a glance that answered my question before she opened her mouth. "No, but let me try to."

I sighed and smiled at the same time, not able to help loving Sam. She was a mess, but she was still great.

"You hanging out with Tucker tonight?" I asked.

"Yep, you wanna come with?" Sam asked, even though she already knew my answer.

"No, studying. We have a Spanish test tomorrow, Sam. _And_ I've got a chemistry test."

"You think I'll study for Spanish? It's easy as pie," she retorted.

"Yeah, well studying never killed anyone." What _did _kill me, though, was the fact that Sam pulled great grades with only a modicum of effort. It was as if she didn't really care about anything. Sure, I probably didn't have to study as much as I did, but busying myself with idle tasks kept my mind off unpleasant things.

"I bet it would if I tried it," Sam told me.

I snorted. "Shut up."

By the time we arrived home, we had stopped fussing. We scooted inside quickly. Sam ran to put her backpack down while I stopped to say hi to Patty.

"Good afternoon, girls...er, Jazz," Patty corrected, laughing a little at Sam's hurried rush to the stairs.

"Hey Patty."

"Have a good day at school?"

"Yeah," I answered methodically. It was like this most of the time after school. We would talk meaningless talk for two or three minutes, and then I would head upstairs to start homework.

The routine didn't let down today.

There's nothing quite like a normal, peaceful day.

* * *

**Danny**

It amused me to watch normal people.

Granted, they weren't really normal. Vlad would never trust ordinary people to unpack his precious ghost equipment. Oh no. The people moving back and forth between the moving truck and our new (and completely over-excessive) mansion were nothing more than overshadowed humans.

Still, they looked completely normal on the outside, and I enjoyed watching people.

My head moved back and forth as the men unloaded more ghost weaponry from the moving truck. I was amazed at the amount of weapons Vlad owned. Had that all really come from our last house? I suppose that was my thought every time we moved though.

"There you are, Daniel...what are you doing?"

At the sound of Vlad's voice, I turned on my heel and hit the ground with one of my knees, as was procedural. I ducked my head as Vlad stopped inches in front of me.

"Watching the movers unpack, Master," I responded.

"And this amuses you?" Vlad asked in a sickeningly curious voice.

"Yes, Master."

"How interesting," he mused for a long second. "Oh well. Come, Daniel, I've something to discuss with you."

His feet turned and began walking back the direction he had come. I scrambled to my feet and marched after him, carefully keeping my eyes down the entire time. He didn't stop until we had gone down two sets of stairs into his lab.

"Look at me, Daniel." I instantly obeyed and was met with a sharp smile. "Do you remember the last town we stayed in and how our neighbors began nosing in our business?" He began to pace around the room—he wasn't good at staying in one spot when giving these speeches to me—but my eyes followed his move.

"Yes, Master."

"Well, even though I lied to them about your being home schooled, their questions planted an idea in my head." He stopped and turned dramatically toward me with his arms outstretched. "Why not put you in school?"

I had learned to pick out the rhetorical questions from those meant to be answered and kept my mouth shut. It was slightly harder to contain my surprise. I hadn't been in a school since Vlad adopted me.

"You see, it makes sense in the long run," Vlad explained, returning to his pacing. "We already have our five Points. Even if we found the Star today, it would take weeks of preparation before we would be ready to move on with the process.

"Daniel, your starting school will put you in the social circles we might need later on to finish our job easily. If you became friends with the Star, or even just a friend of a friend, there would be no need to fight and struggle to get the Star here. It would be as easy as inviting a friend over for dinner.

"Besides, I think you have proved your responsible enough for this type of endeavor. I will expect you to continue to devote one hundred percent to finding the Star and preparing the Machine for the Star and Points. Schoolwork will _not _come before this, you must understand. Even if nothing good comes out of it for the project's sake, putting you into the real world will come in handy one day."

I let all the information process. I was going to school? I was actually going to get to set a foot out of this house in this town, and it wasn't going to be solely for the purpose of retrieving a hostage? I could hardly believe Vlad's change of heart. It felt wonderful just thinking about the fact that Vlad thought of me as responsible enough to let me attend school.

It would take at least a week for Vlad to make a new tracker. (He had to build a new tracker for each of the Points and the Star; even then, he couldn't build a tracker that pinpointed their exact location. He built a tracker to find the Star's town and would now build a tracker to find his location because we were in close enough proximity.) And then, who knew how long it would take to build the Machine that would end the Star's life? I could get to go to school for an entire month or two!

Vlad had stopped pacing around the room and was now watching me with an expectant expression on his face. I knew that look. He wanted a response.

"Thank you, Master."

"Dismissed, Daniel." He waved me away with one hand and turned toward his inventions.

I waited two heartbeats to make sure that he was finished. After that, it was difficult not to bolt to the door of the lab and up the stairs. I was beyond excited.

It wasn't until I had stepped a foot into my bedroom that I realized something vital. I was going to appear stupid and idiotic. Sure, I had picked up lots of information here and there by listening to Vlad for the past ten years, but what was that compared to how much kids must learn in school each year?

I went to sleep that night terrified of the next day.

* * *

**Jazz**

"I hate that you have to be here early," Sam mumbled from the passenger seat. Her eyes were closed, and she was leaning her head against the window.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know, but you almost never have to come, so be quiet." Every other Tuesday I had to be at school at 6:45 to help our scatterbrained secretary reorganize everything. I had signed up because it would look good on a college application. Sam didn't usually have to suffer from my need to look good for college, but today Patty had to leave early for a doctor's appointment, and Sam would rather fall asleep in the car than scrunch onto the overcrowded bus.

I pulled into the vacant student parking lot and glanced at Sam. She was asleep. I sighed, found her phone and set the alarm for 7:20. School didn't start until 7:30. That would give her plenty of time.

I barely glanced around as I walked around to the front door of the school. Nothing was ever different in this place. It was the same thing every day. I could have closed my eyes and made very good progress toward the front door.

Then again, if I had closed my eyes I would've missed seeing the stretch limo idling in the street in front of the school.

I'm pretty sure I stopped and stared. I seemed to black out for a moment. But as soon as I realized my feet had stopped moving, I quickly paced toward the front door. I tried to keep my eyes off the limo but failed. It was something unusual to see a limo in Amity Park. It wasn't a small town, but it was by no means a big town, either. I had seen three limos in my life—each time, it was the mayor getting ready to be driven to some high profile event out of town.

What would a limo be doing at school of all places?

I tried to disregard it as I opened the front door of the school. I walked around to the back door of the office, opened it, and greeted the secretary. "Hi, Mrs. Scott, how are—"

"Oh there you are, thank goodness! Remember that new student I told you about yesterday? Oh, where did I put those papers?"

I sighed and glanced toward the front desk, surprised to see a very well-dressed man standing beside a kid probably at least a grade younger than I.

"Are you talking about his admission papers?" I asked, already knowing the answer. I set my backpack and purse down in the back corner of the office and paced toward the front desk, eying the top left-hand drawer.

The frantic woman looked at me from underneath her frizzy blond hair. "Yes! I set them right here on my desk yesterday and now there gone and I need to give them to—"

I let her drone on as I pulled the papers she was searching for out of the drawer. I glanced at the name on the paper before I handed them to the kid.

Daniel Masters.

I forced myself not to shudder. I hated people named Daniel or Danny or Dan or anything close to that. It didn't matter what age a boy was; if he were named Danny, I couldn't stand it. I had once refused to baby-sit a two year old because his name was Danny, and I still couldn't talk to our janitor.

It was childish, stupid, and irrational. I knew that my brother no longer lived in town, and even if he ever did move back, I knew better to think that he would be two, like the kid I was supposed to babysit, or forty-five, like our janitor. It was just a natural defense my body exhibited. It refused to allow me to even hope. I couldn't associate myself with the name Danny. My body wouldn't allow it.

So I smiled a hard smile, set the papers on his side of the desk, and said, "Here you are." I tried to meet his eyes, but they were focused on the ground. "Good luck with your first day."

I turned away quickly.

"Thanks," he mumbled. I began to walk away briskly. "I mean, thank-you." My eyebrows scrunched together and I turned to glance at the boy. He was just returning his eyes to the ground after looking toward his father.

I decided to not think about the weirdness and hurried to stalk out of the room.

"Oh, yes. Thank-you, Dear. Now, if you'll pay attention..."

I couldn't hear Mrs. Scott from the filing room in the very back of the office. I busied myself with the scattered papers on top of the filing drawers and settled into my work.

My defense system didn't allow me to think of the kid out front.

* * *

**A/N: **To clarify, no Jazz didn't just say, "Oh my goodness, that's my brother!" I tried to make that as clear as possible. I say this to discourage reviews that say "I can't believe Jazz already knows and it's just the first chapter! Do you not know how to write?" So...no, Jazz doesn't know it's her brother.

Thank-you for reading and please review!


	4. Chapter 2: The Name Danny

**A/N: **Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter Two: The Name Danny

* * *

**Danny**

"That's everything you need, and if you have any questions, you know where to find me. Have a cheerful day!" The secretary—Mrs. Scott, I think—pushed me and Vlad out the office door and into the vacant hallway. It was just seven o'clock—thirty more minutes until school started.

I kept my eyes on the floor, but I could guess that Vlad spared me no passing glance as he walked toward the waiting limo—he had brought the limo because he would never dream of appearing less wealthy than he really was. "You're walking home this afternoon" was his only goodbye. Not that I expected anything more.

I smiled wryly as I watched his feet move away and finally looked up to watch his back. Only he and I knew that I wouldn't be walking anywhere.

After Vlad was gone, I felt less tense. I felt as if I could calm down long enough to breathe. I realized that this was the first time since I met the man that I had literally been let out of his sight. When I was at home or doing a mission, he always knew my every move.

I stood in amazement for a moment, reveling in the feeling.

The feeling didn't last very long, though, because I was in unfamiliar territory and one thing Vlad had taught me early in life was to know where I was at all times. It had become a habit of mine to familiarize myself with my surroundings.

Of course, I also didn't have any idea as to what I was supposed to do, and I figured finding that out sooner than later would be a good thing. I could think back to first grade and remember key things about school then. There was a woman who stood at the front of the classroom and taught us kids how to read and write. I could remember that. I supposed high school was just like that, but harder.

I glanced at the papers in my hand. There were seven classes listed on the first sheet. The first class was Math in room twenty-two. _Sounds like a good start. _I got my bearings and set out to find my first class, intent on finding the rest of my classes after that so I would know how to get from place to place today.

That was my intent. However, as I came to the first corner, I heard something that made me stop.

"Ba-am! Ooh, yeah, I got you! You're going do-ooown, baby! Ta ra siscoomba! Death, death! You're going, going….gone forever with a day to spare. Death to you, Oh Mighty BLOT!"

The ramblings didn't let up. Curiosity got the best of me and I rounded the corner to see who was making the noise.

A boy in a beret was sitting in the floor in the middle of the long hallway with something in his hand. He had what looked like a small pen and was tapping furiously at the device he held. His face was bent over in concentration.

Seeing that there was no danger, I slowly turned around before I could be spotted. I could always go a different direct—

"Hey!"

I cringed and froze on the spot.

"Yeah, you. Who are you?"

I turned around and saw that the boy looked as if he were about to stand up. I tried to smile.

"My name's Danny. I'm new and was just looking around—"

"You're new? Cool!" The boy sprang onto his feet and slipped the device he was holding into his pocket. He dashed toward me. "My name's Tucker, and boy, are you one lucky dog. You couldn't have picked a better first person to run into. I am the biggest chick magnet around this school, and I know how everything works too. So no fear! I'll get you a girlfriend within the week and soon you'll be walking up and down these halls like you've been here for decades. I'm bored, let me see your schedule."

He ripped the papers out of my hands, took the one on top, and shoved the others back at me. His eyes quickly scanned the sheet before he broke into a wild grin. He grabbed my arm and started walking. When he was convinced that I would keep following him, he let go and looked at me.

"This is good. You've got third period Spanish with my best friend Sam, fifth period gym with both of us, and seventh period English with me. That way we can keep you informed all day long."

I nodded, trying to follow him.

"I'll brief you on the rules." He paused to take a breath, and I jumped at the opportunity to defer the speech.

"Why are you here so early? School doesn't start for twenty minutes, right?"

He smiled. "Yeah, but my mom has to be at work at seven-fifteen, and I wouldn't ride the bus if I were paid to." He shivered. "Way overcrowded. I'd much rather get here before the teachers and...eh, study...if they ask what I'm doing."

"Mmmm," I mumbled.

"So, what do you wanna do?" he asked. Thankfully, he seemed to have forgotten the rules topic. He had, however, no intentions of leaving me alone.

I mentally sighed and answered. "Show me where these classes are."

For the next ten minutes, Tucker took me on an extensive tour of the school. The tour was long enough that, by the end of it, other students were filing in the building.

"Gotta go meet Sam, you see," Tucker told me as handed my schedule back. "Gotta talk about things. You'll be fine, and I'll brief you on those rules in gym."

With that, there was no more Tucker. I stared after him with wide eyes, hoping that everyone wasn't going to be that friendly. I wouldn't be able to stand living like this if that were the case.

The day started off fine. Through my first two classes, math and Computer Tech, nothing extraordinary happened. I got my book for math. I got assignments to do in Computer. So far it should have been boring, but considering I had never seen most of this stuff, I was completely and totally absorbed by it.

My next class was Spanish. As I walked in the door and handed the teacher a sheet of paper to sign, I noticed someone. But, as my back was to the person I thought I had recognized, I waited until the teacher—Mrs. Harpy—gave me a book before I turned back around.

Yep. Just as I thought. Sitting in the first desk on the second row was the girl from the office this morning. The school was big enough that this was the first repeat face that I'd seen (though I knew I would see Tucker again in just two periods). It was comforting in a strange sense to be able to recognize someone familiar even if I didn't know her name.

I made my way to her side of the classroom—it was the less crowded side—and settled into the second from last desk in the first row closet to the door. The class was unevenly divided down the middle. My side of the classroom had only eight people, while the other side had close to fifteen. There was a nearly empty row separating the two sides.

The only person on my row was a black-haired girl who patterned her dress after her hair—black. She was sitting sideways in the first desk on the row and was leaned across the isle talking to the red-haired girl from the office.

I scanned the classroom, trying to see if I could find Tucker's friend Sam. There were only nine guys in the classroom and five of them were sitting in the corner of the room all wearing red and white jackets. Even though I was not very good at reading people because of my lack of time spent with full humans, I crossed those guys out in my mind. I supposed any of the other three guys could be Sam, but I had a hard time imagining anyone putting up with the Tucker's ramblings long enough to be considered a best friend.

I had to stop my scanning when Mrs. Harpy stood at the front of the classroom and pointed at me. I looked at her warily.

"Turn your book to page seven and pick a name."

So began my Spanish class. She said that from then on I was known as Edwardo Masters. I didn't understand completely until I realized that everyone in the class had a Spanish name. It was then that I realized my curiosity as to who Sam was would remain a mystery until fifth period.

By the end of the period, I was sure this would be the easiest class. After all, every other subject was building on the knowledge kids learned in elementary school—knowledge I didn't have. In this class, at least everyone was starting out on the same page—completely new. Hey, even if I were a couple of weeks behind, it wasn't the end of the world, right?

Fourth period I had biology and somewhere in the midst of that I went to lunch. It was fifth period that I was both dreading and curious about. Gym.

The gym was full of people. Mostly, the girls were on the right of the gym and the guys on the left. There were, however, a few exceptions. Three or four guys were chasing a group of squealing girls around the gym. And there were two people sitting by themselves at the bottom of the bleachers farthest away from the door.

I recognized them both. They were Tucker and the black-haired girl from Spanish. Tucker noticed me instantly (he had been watching the door; I could tell from the immediate smile on his face the moment I walked in the door) and waved me over to him.

I obeyed, not knowing anything else to do.

"Danny, my boy! Come on over, and meet Sam!" he called before I was halfway across the gym floor.

_That _was Sam? Oh.

Sam turned to face me, and her lips turned into a frown.

"Danny?" she asked. "Guess that explains it."

Before I could ask what she meant by that, Tucker jumped up. "Danny, Sam. Sam, Danny. Sam, I told him that we would totally go over every single rule of survival around here and not to worry. We'll have his ba—"

"Manson! Foley!" I jumped at the sound of a harsh new voice and turned to look at a huge woman in shorts. Her hands were on her hips and she was eying Sam and Tucker with the kind of murderous glare Vlad gave me if I didn't do something right. "You think you can skip today? Get out there with the rest of 'um."

They jogged to the middle of the gym and started running in circles with everyone else. The gym teacher eyed me meaningfully. "Masters, I assume," she muttered. She threw some fabric at me and continued talking. "I won't make you dress out today, but I expect you out there running with everyone else tomorrow before the bell rings."

And that was the end of the conversation. I raised an eyebrow as I watched her retreating figure. So far today, I hadn't had to contribute much to any conversation I'd been a part of. Maybe this whole fitting in thing would be easy.

I sat down and watched the mass of humans as they ran around and round the gym. I watched as Sam quickly took the lead and passed the big wad of people. I tried to find Tucker, but the wad was too big to pick out any one person. I was almost completely out of it, staring at nothing, when I felt a jerk on my arm.

"C'mon!"

Catching on to Sam's impatience, I scampered onto my feet and joined her in running. She didn't say anything as we made the next two laps, passing everyone else again in the process. I was beginning to think she just wanted someone to keep her company, but then then she asked me the first question.

"Where you from?"

I decided to tell her the truth. "Texas."

"You like the school there?"

"Home schooled." That was what Vlad had told Mrs. Scott.

She shot me a weird look. "Okay, well let me try and beat Tucker to the punch about the rules."

I tried not to groan. _This _was what she wanted to talk about? I was trying to _avoid _this conversation with Tucker.

"Rule one: There are none. Tucker is nuts and thinks of himself as the know-it-all at school. He makes this stuff up to get people to like him. It hasn't worked yet."

I grinned. "Okay, that makes sense," I agreed.

"Seriously, the only real advice you need is to stay away from the football players and cheerleaders unless one, you think you're popular and empty-headed enough to fit in with them or two, you want to get beat up." She pointed toward the wall of the gym where two kids were talking to the teacher. "That's Paulina and Dash—the worst two by far. I'd bet my right leg their trying to buy themselves out of running."

As we passed them I overheard Paulina whining. "But my leg hurts _really _bad!"

I laughed quietly. I had hurt my leg once training with Vlad. That had only increased his firing.

It seemed like Sam was finished talking for the moment, but I was still curious about what she had said early. I weighted bringing it up. Though Vlad had always taught me that I was never to ask anything out of line to him, I had a feeling that rule didn't apply to society. Of course, I also didn't know if my question would be considered out of line or not.

I decided to chance it.

"Sam...could I ask you a question?"

"What about?" she asked back, not seeming the least bit concerned.

"What was the comment about my name explaining things supposed to mean?" I figured she would've gotten mad, but just the opposite happened. She threw her head back and laughed.

"Please don't tell me you've been worrying about that!" she exclaimed. Suddenly she took on a serious look. "It's nothing. My friend just has a hard time adjusting to some things."

I tried prying further. I didn't know how much I should push my luck, but I was almost as curious about this as I was about how Vlad had gotten his powers or learned about the the Star prophecy.

"And my name is one of those things?" I asked.

She smiled. "Not just _you're_ name. She has a complicated past that I really doubt she would appreciate me blabbing out to you. Why don't you sit back down before Mrs. Tetslaf sees you?"

I noticed we just happened to be passing by my seat. I jogged out of line. I wasn't accustomed to disobeying any kind of orders—even from someone I didn't know.

Someone had a problem with the name Danny. Weird.

* * *

**A/N**: Crappy ending, I know. But never fear, I _will _make up for this non-cliffie ending time and time again throughout this story. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 3: Redhead

**A/N: **Hello all! I would like to say a big thank-you to all my reviewers and all my readers. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you have the others!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter Three: Red-head

* * *

**Jazz**

I was not in the best of moods, and it didn't have anything to do with the hundred odd problems I had to finish for my Pre-Cal homework. (Okay, that might've had something to do with it.)

I was more focused, however, on my brother. I hadn't been able to focus on anything all day. Every second, I had found something that reminded me of him. And it was all because of the that stupid new kid.

Granted, there were other Dannys in school. At least three plus the janitor. I couldn't figure out why my mind had decided to wrap itself around _this _one. I guessed it had to do with the fact that I had Spanish with him. I'd never had a class with a Danny before.

It was silly really; that is, to let my mind get so wrapped up around my brother's name that simply hearing it made me go berserk. It probably meant that my psychological balance was off...or something like that. I would have to find a way to fix that. I couldn't live my entire life afraid of the name Danny.

I rolled off my bed onto the floor and looked under my bed. I pulled out a shoebox and opened it, finding what I was looking for. It was the picture of Danny and me. The one of Mom and Dad was turned upside down.

I stared at the picture and willed myself back to that time. His face was so chubby and happy. I was missing two teeth. I would lose all my teeth again if it meant growing up with my brother.

I traced his face and sighed.

I definitely needed to get over it...well, not get over it. I needed to get it out of my mind and back into that safe place where it had been yesterday before it was uprooted by Daniel Masters. I could function when it was locked away. When it was set free...well, it was a nightmare.

Remembering Danny was like thinking about—

I slapped my head. _Stop it! _What was wrong with me? Did I like making myself miserable? Apparently so.

"That's it," I sighed.

I put the picture back in the box and the box back under the bed. I would count to five and let all the misery inside me wash away and when Sam got done with her homework (she was grounded from the mice incident), she would find me done with my homework and holding her favorite bottle of black onyx nail polish, and we would spend the rest of the night doing each others nails.

That's what I would do.

* * *

**Danny **

She hated me.

That was the only only conclusion I could draw. It was the only thing that made sense. It had been a week, but nothing had changed. Sam's friend hated me.

Every day I would walk into third period and walk between Sam and her friend to my seat. The red-head would look another direction long enough for me to pass and then start talking to Sam again. I'd never taken part of normal human behavior, but it didn't seem like this should be normal. I was probably making myself paranoid.

Sam was completely fine in talking to me. Every day in gym we would run together—we were the fastest two in the class—and every day she would question me. What was my favorite thing about Texas? Did I have any friends I missed? What was my parents like? What was my favorite color?

It was weird, but she seemed genuinely interested in my answers. Maybe she was trying to keep me off the topic of her friend's strange behavior. Maybe she was just talking to fill up the silence that would have been there otherwise. Who knew?

Tucker didn't get any better. Any chance he got, he was in my face blabbing about something. It didn't seem to matter what the conversation was about as long as it was about something. There was never a beat of silence when I was around him. Sam's talking and Tucker's talking were two incomparable things. I could stand it when Sam kept up a steady stream of words (they were meaningful), but Tucker was a different story. I couldn't figure out how the two of them were friends.

One day in English Tucker was telling me about the time his mom let him get a fish. "Mom said she didn't think I would be able to be responsible enough to take care of a cat, but I told her that I could keep it alive. She gave me a goldfish and said that if I could keep it alive for a week, she would let me get a cat. Well, it started off—"

The bell had cut him off, thankfully. We turned to pay attention as Mr. Lancer began his lecture on Transcendentalism. Right as he finished, the bell rang and I slipped my book into my backpack. Once the bell ended, Tucker picked right back up.

"—okay, but by the end of the week Golda was floating upside down in the tank and I tried hiding her from mom..."

Vlad was tolerable. He was transfixed on building the tracker that would point us to the Star. I didn't dare interrupt him, but I did keep up a steady practice session by myself. I knew that it would hurt me much worse to not be in practice later than to skip out now. Besides, Vlad kept muttering that he was almost finished and it would be only a matter of time. I figured he was about to kick my butt into shape again.

All in all, it had to have been the strangest week of my life—including the week I was getting used to having ghost powers. Ghost powers were nothing compared to putting up a believable front at school and dealing with three very different people.

The weekend came and the weekend went in a blur of hurried practice sessions. Vlad wasn't done with the tracker, but he seemed to have realized that he had been neglecting my practice. We spent the better part of forty-eight hours throwing punches at each other.

Monday morning dawned. Before I even stepped out of bed, I began preparing myself for Tucker's ramblings, Sam's questioning, and Red-head's ignoring me.

I walked into third period with many expectations and no hope.

* * *

**Jazz**

When Daniel walked by me, I looked away for a fraction of a second and then leaned further over the desk toward Sam. She had been trying to tell me something.

"Okay, I'm finished," she started.

"Finished with what?" I asked.

"My interrogation of Danny Masters," she finished, whispering

I froze. "What?"

"I interrogated him last week."

"Why?" I asked, fearing where this was leading.

She had an evil gleam in her eye. "I'm going to help you get over the name Danny."

My eyes went wide. "What?" I asked again. I shook my head and glared at her. "No."

Her eyes were wide in innocence. "You don't even know what I was going to suggest."

I humored her. "What do you want to suggest, Sam?"

She smiled. "You need to get to know someone named Danny. If you can associate yourself with someone named Danny, then you can get over it."

"Nope."

"Why not? You're always the one pushing me to conquer my fears. Why can't I push you?" she whined.

"I don't want to do it now. Let's wait for the next Danny I meet. It'll probably be a few years and by then, I should be able to stomach something like that," I told her. She raised an eyebrow at me. I tried not to groan; I knew where she would go next.

"Oh please, Jazz, that's weak and you know it. If things were different, you would tell me that putting things off only makes them worse and thicker and harder to handle. Now I want you to get up and walk back there and tell him you'll help him with his Spanish. You know the poor kid's got to be confused. It's nearly October—middle of the semester. He has no idea what _ser _means, let alone how to use it. Now, go back there and—"

"Okay, open your books to page one hundred. Today, we talk about the weather. _Llueve_. What's that mean? Anyone?"

Mrs. Harpy began class. I paid close attention, not willing myself to think about what Sam was wanting me to do. Sam was forceful; she would somehow get me to do it.

It made sense in a twisted way, though. I ground my teeth together—I wasn't ready for something like this. Sure, it had been ten years, but I wasn't over my brother yet. And I had been doing so good this week. I hadn't even thought about my brother once a day...and once a day was the norm.

But was not thinking about him doing me much worse than confronting my problem? I sighed. Probably.

Mrs. Harpy finished early. With a bright smile, she announced that we still had fifteen minutes. I tried not to growl. Of course we had free time to_day._

I took my time putting my book and notebook in my backpack before I looked to Sam. She was smirking.

"It was meant to be," she told me.

"Shut up," I muttered. "The next thing you'll have me doing is riding a motorcycle."

Her face turned dark. "Hey, _I_ didn't mention—"

"Yeah, I know." I slid out of my seat. "I just like making myself miserable."

He would probably think I was crazy considering how I had ignored him all last week. And now I was going to talk to him. Wonderful. _Did Sam call him Danny? _I thought suddenly.

He had his face down on the desk. I hesitated. This seemed like a good enough excuse. I didn't want to interrupt him. Sam cleared her throat. I turned around to glare at her, and when I looked back to Danny, he was staring up at me with curious eyes.

"Hi!" I sat down in the desk in front of him and smiled. "Sorry I didn't get around to introducing myself last week. My name's Jazz. You're Danny, right?"

"Yes," he answered. He offered nothing else.

My smile didn't waver. I was good at maintaining self-control. "So, how are you liking Casper?" Safe ground.

"Alright. It takes some getting used to."

"Yeah, a new school must be hard," I agreed. "What about Spanish? It must be hard trying to pick it up half-way through the semester."

"Yeah, a little bit," he admitted.

"Well, I think it's stupid to stick a kid in a class like this after school starts, but it's not a very popular class. Lots of transfers get stuck in this class because it's the only one the office can find that still has spots open, but it's still not smart."

"No," he agreed. I tried not to frown. Wow. This kid wasn't much for conversation, was he?

"So, I was wondering if you'd want some tutoring. You know, I could totally help you out with all this stuff—catch you up." _Please say no, please say no._

His eyebrows came together and his mouth opened but no sound came out. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head. He smiled and opened his eyes again. "Sorry about that," he started. "I'll have to ask my dad about the tutoring though."

"Strict dad?" I asked. _Yes!_

"You could say that," he replied. I nodded and was about to get up when Sam hit my back. I tried not to scream at her and continued talking.

"Well, you tell him that I'm available for an hour after school every day, and I'd be glad to tutor you."

"Alright."

"It's nice to meet you," I said, jumping up and returning to my seat. He didn't say anything else.

I turned to glare at Sam and dropped my voice to a whisper. "Happy?" I asked.

Sam was smiling. "Very."

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her. Then I sighed. What was I getting myself into?

* * *

**A/N: **Done with Chapter Three! Give me your thoughts please! I still plan to update weekly, but my school starts back Monday after next. It shouldn't slow down my updates since the story is already complete, but I'm making no promises.


	6. Chapter 4: Relations

**A/N: **I'm pretty sure I broke some kind of grammar rule with the first sentence of this chapter, even though I tried my hardest not to, so...good luck making it make sense! Just to let you know, I confused myself when I re-read this so don't hesitate to ask me to explain something if it doesn't make sense.

Thank you reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter Four: Relations

* * *

**Danny**

It was ironic that the first time the red-head—er, Jazz (her name was the same as my sister's; when she'd introduced herself, I'd had to practically beat my heart back to a normal rhythm, telling myself that, for all I knew, Jazz was a popular name; besides, I didn't allow hope in my life)—spoke to me (not counting that day in the office) was to offer to tutor me in my best subject. Of course, I wasn't doing wonderful in Spanish, but I was passing with a C. It was just so hard to catch up to a high school level considering I had never been in school.

But schoolwork wasn't what was bothering me. Why in the world Jazz had seemed so offended by my presence at first? And what in the world had gotten her to talk to me? I would have to figure those two things out before I could rest easy. Well, I sort of figured Sam was involved in the getting her to talk to me part. I'd heard the two girls whispering before Jazz came back to my seat, but I wasn't able to pick out what they were saying. But why would Sam want Jazz to talk to me?

I shook my head as I flew home. I couldn't worry about Sam's motivations. The only thing I should be worrying about was how to get Vlad to agree to let Jazz tutor me.

Because I wanted Jazz to tutor me. Not to catch up in school (though that would be a great bonus!) but to see if I could find out why she seemed to hate me so much. It was obvious that she hadn't even wanted to talk to me this morning in class. But why? Figuring that out was the main reason I wanted Jazz to tutor me.

But that would mean I would have to ask questions, and that wasn't something I was good at. Through the past week at school, I'd learned that normal people didn't seem to care whether their words were offensive. I'd been raised to restrain my words, to only speak when spoken to or when I had a dire need. It was foreign for me to say something to somebody that might be considered too personal or intrusive.

But I would have to do it.

Then again, that was only if Vlad let me go. That would be the real trick.

I bit my lip and exhaled through my nose.

When my feet hit the floor in the living room of my house, I changed back to human.

I knew where I would find him. He would be in the lab working on the tracker for the Star. I slowly descended the stairs, trying to figure out exactly how to bring the subject up. I would have to twist my question to make it sound like Jazz tutoring me would help us in the long-term with the Star project. But I wouldn't lie to him. I didn't lie to Master.

I searched for him in the lab, but didn't see him. He was most likely shut away in the room I wasn't allowed to go in. Oh well. I would see him soon eno—

I hit my knees when the door opened.

"Daniel. What are you doing down here?"

I didn't stutter on my words. That would get me in trouble. "I came to ask you a question, but when I realized you were busy, I decided to wait until later."

Silence prevailed. It was always like this when I wanted to ask Vlad a question. It felt like he was wondering whether listening to my question would be worth his while.

"Stand to your feet. Proceed." I quickly stood up, but my eyes were still on the ground.

"A girl in one of my classes offered to tutor me and help me catch up. I realize that you are not worried with my actual education, but I was thinking that this could be a healthy way to socialize and get to know another person like you wanted me to do."

He didn't say anything for a moment. I assumed he was thinking about the case I had presented. If this helped me become more involved in society—which he apparently thought was not a bad thing—then this would probably be okay with him.

"That sounds reasonable," he finally admitted. "There's always the off chance this girl could be the Star. Or she may be the Star's friend. What a wonder that would be!" He suddenly cut himself off. "What kind of time are you thinking you'll be able to put into this? One more day and the tracker will be complete, boy. After that, I'll resume your rigorous training and we'll be building the Machine to fry the Star."

"She said she would be available for one hour every day after school. I assumed you would not be that lenient, of course, Master," I added for good measure.

"Yes, yes." I watched his feet move back and forth in front of me and heard the _tap _of his shoes against the tile. "Two days. Tuesdays and Thursdays you are permitted to do this. No more. Leave now."

"Yes, Master." I swiftly turned around and bolted up the stairs. Two days? That was more than I'd been hoping for. This would be great!

When I got back upstairs to my room, I pulled out all my school books. I would need to do the best I could now to catch up in my classes if Vlad was almost ready to resume my practicing.

Half-way through my math homework, I dropped my pencil on the floor. I bent down to pick it up, managing to hit my hand on the chest by my bed in the process. When I sat back up, I stared at the top drawer of the chest, remembering the pictures it held. Then I put my pencil to the paper and kept on writing.

* * *

**Jazz**

Walking to my car Tuesday afternoon, I remembered there would be three people waiting for me rather than two. I was used to Sam and Tucker being there. Sam's last class was closer to the parking lot than mine. She usually met Tucker at his last class and waited by the car with him. Tucker would then go wait for his mom to pick him up, and Sam and I would leave. That was the routine; I liked the routine.

This afternoon, Sam wouldn't just be meeting Tucker at his English class. She would be meeting Danny. They would all three be waiting at the car for me. When I got there, Tucker would leave and Sam and Danny would hop in the car. After I dropped Sam off at home, I would drive Danny to the library where we would study for an hour. I wasn't about to let him in the house, and I wasn't going in his.

"Hey everyone," I greeted as soon as I was in hearing range. I pressed the unlock key on my key ring. Two doors opened.

"Bye my lovely people," was Tucker's departing line.

I rolled my eyes. He was so annoying. I had never figured out the friendship between Sam and Tucker. It was a mystery to me.

I slid into the driver's seat just in time to hear the end of Danny's question for Sam.

"—always so weird?"

Sam laughed. She was turned toward him. "Yeah. Always has been. I've never really seen him do anything normal. But hey, someone has to be his friend, and he's great once you really get to know him."

"So you say," I muttered. It wasn't that I didn't like Tucker. It was hard to not like Tucker. He was just _so _annoying.

"Shut up; you love him and you know it," Sam insisted. I just laughed. We drove home in silence then. Uncomfortable silence. I'm sure Danny was sitting back there trying to figure out where my change of heart had come from. _I_ was still trying to figure where it had come from. Why had I listened to Sam? Now I was going to spend the entire night sitting on my bed wallowing in tears for my brother.

I took my hand off the wheel and slapped her on the knee.

"Hey, what was that for?" she asked, though she probably knew exactly what it was for.

"You'll find out when I get back home this afternoon."

I pulled up to the curb in front of the house to let Sam out. She swung out of the car and slammed the door behind her. I sighed. No matter how many times I told Sam to close a door gently, she just never listened.

Patty opened the door and watched Sam walk up the driveway.

"You can come sit up front if you want," I told Danny. I heard him shift to the right side of the car and open the door. I sat waiting for him to get in the front seat, but he never did. I looked toward the passenger side door curiously. He was just standing outside with one hand on the door handle. I rolled down the window. "You can open the door; I won't bite."

He seemed to shake himself out of a daze. He opened the door as I rolled the window back up. I glanced out the open door to see Patty shutting the door to the house.

Danny slid into the seat, snapped his seat belt down, and slumped against the seat. I pulled out onto the road, searching for something to talk about. He beat me to the punch.

"Why did we have to drop Sam off?" he asked.

I smiled slightly. "She has to come straight home from school every afternoon because she's grounded."

"What did she do?"

"Let's just say it involved five snakes and ten mice." He didn't say anything, and I chanced a glance at him. He was turning his head toward the window.

I bit my lip and turned my attention back to the road. What was I supposed to talk about? School stuff seemed the safest ground to get onto—

"Is she your sister? You don't look like her."

Okay, that was _not _safe ground to get onto at all.

"No, she's not my sister."

"Oh," he replied. "Cousin or something?"

"No. We're not related," I told him curtly. He was obviously just trying to fill the empty space with conversation. I couldn't blame the guy—that's what I was trying to do. He was just having more luck than I. "Why are you assuming that we are?"

"After you hit her, you said you'll be home later tonight," he told me.

I felt stupid for asking. He had been paying closer attention that I'd thought.

"You have a brother or sister?" I asked him. As long as we were on the subject, I might as well get as much information out of him as possible.

He didn't answer for a minute. I turned to look at him. He was staring out the window again.

"Yes," was his answer.

"He or she at Casper?"

"No."

"Too young?"

"No."

"Too old?"

"No."

Okay, we were so not getting anywhere with one word answers. Time to take the conversation in another direction before—

"Do you have a sibling?" he asked.

I tried not to stutter over my answer. "It's been awhile since I've seen him, but yeah, I have a brother."

"I'm sorry." The tone of his voice made me look at him. His eyes were full of pity and understanding.

"M'kay. So are you ready to dig into some Spanish?" I asked, obviously changing the subject now.

"Do you want to know something funny?" he asked. I thought that was a weird way to answer that question.

"What?"

"Spanish is my best subject."

I raised my eyebrows. "How is it your best subject? We just started chapter four; you've gotta be way behind."

"Not really. It's pretty easy to catch onto if I pay close enough attention," he admitted.

"Then why in the world did you agree to let me tutor you?" I asked, bewildered.

"Because I still only have a C in there and—"

"And that's you're _best _subject?" I asked, amazed.

He sheepishly replied, "I was home schooled in Texas. I spent a lot more of that time helping my dad with his business that learning reading, math, science, or history."

I shook my head. "What's you're worst subject?"

"Well, science makes the least sense, but I'm failing math with something like a thirty."

I sighed. This kid needed some big-time help. Was it fate that I had been the one to offer him that help?

"Look, I had a plan laid out for your Spanish studies so that if you're dad let you get tutored three times a week, we could be finished in a month. But we're gonna have to tweak it a bit. I'll help you in your other subjects too. That sound like a plan?"

He was completely quiet. I glanced at him. His eyes were wide open. "You'd do that?"

"Sure," I answered. It had to have been fate. Sam was right about me needing to get over my fear of the name Danny. It would be difficult, and I wouldn't like doing it, but I had to make myself do it. This was the first step. I was putting myself out on limb now; if it had adverse affects...well, maybe they would be temporary.

He sat back against the seat and didn't say another word until we pulled into the library parking lot.

* * *

**A/N: **There you go. Next chapter is up and ready! Please give me your thoughts and ask anything you want an answer for. Now...I may not answer, but it never hurts to ask! And no, it will not do you any good to get used to the calm endings. Next chapter should be a doozy. :)

This is totally off-subject, but I'm throwing it out here anyway. If any of you watch Avatar: The Last Airbender and if you are a Zutara fan, I have recently put up a video on youtube. Check it out and give me your thoughts please! http:/ / www. /user/ wfea11 (remove the spaces)


	7. Chapter 5: Tracker

**A/N: **I'm back with another chapter! Thank-you all for reading, and thank-you all for reviewing! I hope I get to read more and more reviews and the story gets longer. :)

This is the shortest chapter yet, with only 2100 words. Most of the others have between 2330 and 2800.

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own it...are you surprised?

* * *

Chapter Five: Tracker

* * *

**Danny**

Maybe she didn't hate me. Well, that's what I was going to keep telling myself. It would be hard to dismiss the strange attitude she'd had toward me that first week, but if she were willing to tutor me in _every _subject, I could look past it.

I still couldn't believe she was willing to help me in every subject. I wasn't used to getting things how I wanted them to be. Sure, I could use the help, but no, I would never ask for it. That really hadn't been my intention when I brought up the fact that I was passing my best subject with a C. I had simply been trying to make conversation. It felt awkward sitting there and not saying anything.

I had been surprised when she offered. I hadn't expected it. I wasn't used to having something good like that offered to me. I laughed. Maybe the world wasn't cruel. Maybe it was just Vlad.

Then I frowned. But Vlad was my master. It was simple as that. I had to obey him; my life was devoted to him.

Vlad was waiting for me when I got home. I figured he was ready to pick back up with my training. I knelt to my knees, bracing myself for the worst. Nothing happened, but I knew better than to raise my head to look at him.

"How was your lesson?" he asked.

I tried not to show surprise at his question, but it was hard. He never asked me about anything. He never asked for my opinion on anything we ever did or how I liked training or how school was. It wasn't that I expected him to ask, but it was strange that he would ask about something as trivial as my tutoring session.

I don't know what made me do it, but I did it. Maybe it was a lapse of reason. Maybe I was taking the fact that he would ask about my lesson further than he had wanted me to take it. Maybe I was just stupid.

"_Muy bien, señor._"

Yeah. I was just stupid.

I didn't have to wait for the slap that sent me flying against the wall. That was the reason why he had asked, then. He just wanted an excuse to send me flying across the room. I jumped back to my feet, into a crouch.

"Back to your knees, boy!" he demanded.

I immediately hit the ground, panicked.

"That was a test. And you failed. I do not care about your academic education; I don't want you to tell me anything about it, _especially in Spanish!_" Vlad exclaimed. I concentrated on breathing evenly and keeping calm. "That was number one." And that meant that Vlad would only give me two more chances until I was severely beaten. I thought about the mark on my right arm and shuddered.

"I finished the trackers. One for you and one for me. When nightfall comes, we will fly over the city searching for the Star. Stand to your feet." I obeyed. He threw a small square device at me. I caught it and inspected it. It had a blank screen on the upper half, and the bottom of the device contained about ten colored buttons. I let my arms drop to my sides.

"You know about the natural defense system that was a part of the Points. The Star has the same kind of thing. But he's in this city, and we will find him." That meant we would have to be within sight distance for the tracker to pick up the the Star's whereabouts.

Vlad paused. Then he told me to look at him. I did. He was in his ghost form; the tracker had been set aside. I set mine aside as well. "Time for training."

That was all it took. He pounced on me and suddenly we were flying through the floor and into the training room set up next to the lab.

* * *

**Jazz**

It hadn't been that bad. Not really. Stressful, yes. Unbearable, no. That's what I told Sam. She looked at me quizzically.

"So do you forgive me?"

I laughed dryly. "Not a chance. I don't have to put myself through this. You're making me."

She laid a hand on my shoulder. "It's for your own good, Jazz, and you know it."

I glared at her half-halfheartedly. "But why now?"

"Why not?" she asked. She sat down on my bed and pulled a pillow up to her chest. "You're always telling me to face my fears today so I won't have to deal with them tomorrow. Why does the same not hold true for you?"

"Yeah, I know, but why _this _Danny?"

"Why not this Danny?" Sam asked, looking at me strangely. "He's a nice guy. There's nothing wrong with him."

"I guess," I drawled out. I looked down and traced out a pattern on my bedspread. "But something feels weird about him. I don't know what it is, but I know it's there."

I looked back up at Sam to see how crazy she thought I was. To my surprise, she was smiling. She was in an unusually caring mood tonight.

"How come you can see everyone else's problems but your own? Don't tell me I'm crazy when I say this because I heard it from you," she warned. "Don't you think your mind might be coming to defend itself from what it thinks is going to hurt it? It could be a psychological thing that's making you think there's something weird about this kid—anything to keep you away from him."

I smiled slightly. "So you don't just tune me out when I talk to you."

"Shhh...don't tell anyone. My image would be totally ruined." She laughed quietly, then stood up. "It's my last day being grounded. You know the ceremonial last-day-of-grounding ritual. What do you want to eat?"

"Better question—what all can you actually cook?"

We ran off to scour the kitchen for food.

That night, I dreamed of a huge escalator. I was standing in the middle of it, and the steps were as tall as I was. I looked toward the top and saw my four year old baby brother. He was standing and pointing down and me and laughing, saying, "Jazzy, Jazzy, I'm up here, silly."

I hefted myself over the edge of the first step, but as I began working on the second one, the escalator started moving backward. I cried out for Danny to come down to me, but he just stood there laughing happily.

"Danny!"

I kept going, but the steps were moving too fast for me to climb. Before I knew it, I was on the last step, and there was nothing below me. Just oblivion. I looked for Danny again, but instead of Danny I saw John Celerity standing at the top.

"I'll save ya, baby. Don't worry about a thing."

I screeched in horror and let go of the last step, falling and falling until I opened my eyes and I saw I was still in my bed.

I was breathing heavily and sweat was cascading down my face.

_That's what you get for facing your fears _and _opening up the old boyfriend wound, Jazz._

I glanced at the time, but it was only two o'clock. I groaned and pulled the cover over my head, hoping to fall back asleep without all the theatrics this time.

* * *

**Danny **

Later that night, I was soaring above the rooftops of the city buildings. The tracker was in my hands, and the screen was alive with a glowing green light. A radar beam was circling the screen. It had been almost an hour since Vlad had taken off to the west side of the city and I to the east. The communication device in my ear had been completely quiet so far. Neither of us had found a thing.

This was the worst part of the job in my opinion. Each of the Points and the Star had to be tracked down, but they had a natural defense system they didn't even know about. Each of their minds was wired shut so that their exact location couldn't be pinpointed. Vlad could only track their general location.

That's how it had been for everyone we tracked down—first, Vlad tracked the person's general location. Once we had moved into the heart of it, he spent days alone in his lab developing a device that would beep when it was in close proximity to the target. Then the screen would show a bright red dot identifying the target, and we would plan our attack.

It was like clockwork.

Each person required a different tracker, and we had to capture each person in a specific order. It was strange. I had no idea how or when Vlad stumbled upon this prophecy. But I did know that only one person could be tracked at a time. Once we had the first person captured, a second was revealed and so on.

And two years later, I was flying over the rooftops of the sixth city looking for that final puzzle piece. Would we find it tonight? Or tomorrow? When?

And what would happen then? We would build the Machine Vlad had been talking about non-stop since we captured the last Point, capture the Star, and do...whatever it was we were going to do. Then what? After Vlad had his ultimate power (at least, I was going to assume ultimate power was what he was going to get out of this ordeal) would he still need me? Or would I just be another person under him?

I shook my head and focused on the black sky in front of me. I had way too much thinking time when we did stuff like this. And who knew how much longer Vlad was willing to search tonight? I was tired, but that didn't mean a thing. We could go on all night. And I would have no choice but to fulfill my duty.

Just then, a crackling noise in my ear sharpened all my senses.

"Retire for tonight."

That was all I needed. I changed my course for home. As I turned, I caught a glimpse of Sam and Jazz's house in the distance—they lived right on the edge of town, right past the last big city building.

I couldn't help thinking about the tutoring session today. It hadn't been bad—actually, it had been the opposite of bad. I had never been in a library before, and I had to focus on keeping my attention on Jazz as she explained how to conjugate the verb _ser _to me. I had to admit that knowing a little more of the basics in Spanish had already helped me.

When I got home, Vlad was already there, waiting for me.

"Stay standing," he instructed. I obeyed, keeping my eyes on the ground and remaining as Phantom, just in case he was ready for another practice session.

He wasn't though, because as he came walking to me, he changed back into his human form. He took the tracker out of my hand. "Look." I looked at the tracker. He was pointing to the blue button on the bottom of the device. "If it goes off tomorrow at school, this is the button you use to silence it."

He threw it back at me, turned around, and didn't say another word.

* * *

**Danny**

I fingered the tracker in my pocket all through my first two classes Wednesday. I couldn't help it. It was just sitting in my pocket—a time bomb waiting to go off. Right now, Vlad would be starting to put together everything we would need to build the Machine we would put the hostages in. All we were waiting for now was the last piece of the puzzle. Would I find it today?

My foot wasn't even in my third period class when the tracker went off.

* * *

**A/N: **No, you don't know who John Celerity is. I say that because I can anticipate the very angry reviewers asking who in the world the guy is. But no fear! You will find out in the next chapter.

I hope I was clear enough in the description of how the Points and Star was found, but if I wasn't, feel free to ask me.

I await your thoughts patiently!


	8. Intermission I: Jazz

**A/N: **Hello and welcome to the first break in the story! Yeah, I know, I make y'all wait more than a week so that means this chapter is going to be some great revelation of who the Star is!

Well, sorry to disappoint...or am I? :)

Now, seriously: there are four intermissions in this story. These are similar to the introductions in that they resemble more of a journal entry than a flowing story. They contain information important to the story later on and it was easier to take a complete break from the story and stick these in here than to try and fit the info somewhere else.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DP.

**Celerity: **(ce-ler-i-ty) noun; swiftness, speed. (from dictionary . com)

* * *

Intermission I: Jazz

* * *

His name was John Celerity.

He wasn't the kind of guy any of my friends imagined me dating. Blond hair adorned his crown and his blue eyes shone brighter than the sky. He was a bad-boy, and he was very good-looking (okay, fine—his rugged good looks made him _hot_), and he was the kind of guy someone would look at and think, _He definitely cheats on his girl. _

Well, he didn't. All my girlfriends said they knew he didn't. Even some guys told me he didn't. He was the best thing in my life two years ago.

He was sixteen and I was fourteen, but age didn't matter. We were perfect for each other.

He had a slick, shining red motorcycle. From the first time my eyes saw its shine, I had wanted to ride it. Me wanting to ride a motorcycle wasn't something anyone would have figured would be normal, but I wanted to ride it all the same, and I had no idea why. After three drawn-out months, Patty finally conceded.

"Yes, Jazz, he can take you on his motorcycle to the movies tonight."

Happiness exploded out of my veins—it was as if the sun had relocated to inside my body and its heat was warming me by the minute. I quickly called John and told him the good news. He said he would pick me up at six.

He was a couple of minutes early, but that was fine because I was ready. Patty gave him a stereotypical parental speech about curfew and keeping me safe, and within ten minutes, we were flying down the streets, cruising toward a steakhouse for dinner.

It was only 9:15 when we got out of the movie, and I didn't have to be home until ten, but John said it would look good for him if he got me home early. I didn't argue with him.

We were about five minutes away from home and nearing an intersection when things turned dark.

"John, you're speeding," I told him, having to yell loudly to have even a chance of being heard. He glanced down at the speedometer.

That look was his mistake.

I happened to glance up and notice an oncoming eighteen wheeler barreling toward the intersection. _It'll st__op_, I thought. After all, our light was green.

The truck never slowed.

"JOHN!" I yelled.

He jerked his head up. We were too close to the intersection to stop on time but there was no way we would be able to speed through in time either. Still, John slammed on the brakes, and we went flying sideways toward the truck. My hair whipped out of my helmet, and I could see nothing. All I could do was imagine the terror-stricken faces of the onlookers and the hopeless face of my boyfriend.

The next thing I remember was being picked up by an onlooker. He asked me if I were okay and I said yes. I looked around, trying to take in the damage. Somehow I was now sitting on the side of the road in the soft green grass. How had that happened? And where was John? I needed him right now. I needed a hug, and he was the only person in the world who could comfort me.

People mumbled about how brave the boy had been. Somebody said they wished it didn't have to happen like this. A voice said that I was lucky. Someone said the police were on the way.

I didn't hear any of it; I was focused on finding John.

My knees were jello, wobbling in crazy directions, as I started to stand. Where was John? I took a cautious step toward where I imagined the road was. I couldn't see a thing; it felt like my hair was still wrapped around my face like a cocoon. I lifted my hands and brushed away strands of hair from my eyes. I blew the rest out of my face.

Where was John?

Now that my face was clear of any vision impairment, I could see more clearly. The intersection we had been about to cross was a mess. The eighteen wheeler was stopped on the side of the road, along with five or six other cars. A small group was milling around on the road. I was confused. Why were those people standing on the road?

A man rushed over to me. "Why are you walking? You need to sit down."

I brushed him off. "No," I vehemently responded. "Where's John?"

As I approached the crowd of people, they slowly began to unfold, allowing me to see what they were all gathered around.

I took in the entire sight in less than a second, and all I remember seeing was this:

John's wrecked motorcycle and a shock of blond hair.

* * *

I didn't cry when I got home that night. I didn't cry at the funeral two days later. I didn't shed one single tear for an entire week. I moved around like a zombie and didn't feel or hear anything. I carried on conversations with Patty and other people out of necessity only. No one ever mentioned the accident.

I walked through the door eight days after the accident and collapsed on the floor. I couldn't see through my tears or breathe through my nose or feel anything through my fingers. I was completely cut off from the world. The world didn't love me and I didn't love it.

Patty rushed over to console me. It was the first time since the accident that she had even mentioned motorcycles or danger or boys or John or anything. And all she said was, "I'm sorry, honey."

That was all she said. She didn't say, "I told you so," or, "You should have listened." Simply, "I'm sorry."

I don't think anything but those two words could have made any impact on me at that moment.

That night, Sam and I talked the accident over, and we forged an even stronger friendship than we already had.

I began functioning again (after a day or two of constant tears). This time I was aware of the things I was doing, but I didn't do any of them with happiness or thrill. I simply lived my life with no emotion. But I was functioning better and that seemed like a step on the road to recovery.

I was not fun to be around at all. Guys seemed to know not to talk to me. They tended to steer clear of me in classes and in the hallway. My girlfriends were better. They stuck by my side for a while, but after a month, they finally got fed up with my doing nothing fun. They abandoned me. Sam was my only friend.

That didn't bother me as much as I thought it would have. My friends had been put through a trial, and only the true friend had stuck it out.

Two months later, I was back to normal, functioning like normal, and hardly allowing myself to think about the accident. To this day, I don't think or talk about the accident or John. Patty and Sam know not to talk to me about it.

And that accident was the beginning of my problems with John Celerity.

* * *

**A/N: **Told you I'd tell you who John Celerity was. :)

Please tell me what you think. And yes, I promise the next update will bring you chapter 6.


	9. Chapter 6: Forceful

**A/N: **Now that I've got you all thoroughly off-track with the intermission, may I present to you…Chapter 6!

Also…I haven't forgotten about this story. I've merely not had five minutes of free time over the last two weeks to update this. No, I'm not exaggerating. I promise this story will be finished, but I don't promise it will be finished quickly.

Thanks to all my readers and all my reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the show.

* * *

Chapter Six: Forceful

* * *

**Jazz**

I ate breakfast the next morning slowly, trying to figure out how to bring my dream up to Sam. We told each other nearly everything, and this dream was something I would never keep from her. Maybe she had some more of that detached psychologist talk I needed. I had come to realize that she was right about the fact that I could look at other people and give tons of advice, but, at the same time, I was unable to apply any of that advice to myself. I needed her point-of-view.

As soon as we both slid into the car, I unleashed my emotions with a single statement.

"So, I had a dream last night," I told Sam as she was reaching to turn the volume button up. Her hand paused before she pressed it, but she didn't move it back.

"What was it about?" she asked carefully. I didn't tell her about my dreams unless they were meaningful.

"Just...my brother and...the...you know," I mumbled. I couldn't bring myself to even say his name. I hadn't said it in so long I wasn't sure I still remembered how to pronounce his name.

Her hand moved back from the radio button. I could feel her eyes boring into me, but I kept my focus entirely on the road in front of me.

"You haven't dreamed about him in forever," she whispered. I knew she was talking about the second guy. I didn't dream about Danny as often as I used to, but he still had cameo appearances in my dreams from time to time. Besides, she had probably already guessed that I would dream about my brother last night after spending so much time with Danny Masters.

"What was the dream?" she asked. I explained the entire dream, starting with the giant escalator and ending with my falling of it. When I was done, she didn't say a word for a few moments. "Well, that's weird."

"That's what I thought. Do you think it means anything? Or I am just looking for some way to make myself hurt more and more?" I whined.

Sam laughed. "You're probably making something out of nothing. You spent so much time with Danny yesterday that you were bound to dream about your brother. As for the other one, well, you said he'd been on your mind lately. Maybe you just couldn't take it anymore."

I smiled in agreement. "Guess so."

Sam sighed in relief. "No more psycho games with you for a while."

"It's not psycho games; it's psychology," I protested.

She shrugged. "Can't spell it without psycho. Music time."

She turned the music she loved up a notch too loud, and I settled in for another day at school.

* * *

**Danny**

The classroom was about half full and every eye turned to the sound of the beeping. I smiled and reached into my pocket. "Sorry." I dashed between Sam and Jazz to my seat, pushing the blue button on the tracker as I moved. The beeping stopped, but I was anxious. The Star was in this room. I looked down at the screen; it was lit with a bright green pulsing light. The Star had been found.

I pushed the red button, and the screen zoomed down and showed a picture of the classroom I was sitting in. The pulsing light this time was more focused. I could tell exactly who the tracker had picked up.

I held my breath and looked at the back of the Star's head. She was sitting in front of me, paying attention to Mrs. Harpy, who had already started the lesson. I bit my lip anxiously. I couldn't believe the Star was—

"Edwardo, read the next line please."

I glanced up, startled, at the sound of my Spanish name. It hadn't taken me long to get used to it. Mrs. Harpy called on just about everyone everyday to read something. I blinked and glanced down at my empty desk. Mrs. Harpy sighed.

"Edwardo has joined the dark side!" a voice from the other side of the classroom exclaimed. I looked at the guy Sam had told me was named Dash. His fist was raised in the air. His desk was clear of a book, notebook, or pencil. I rolled my eyes. It had taken all of three days for me to realize what the split down the middle of the classroom was for. The more crowded side (not mine) was full of troublemakers and clowns. My side was called the quiet side of the classroom.

"Edwardo. Page one-hundred, please. _Ejercico ocho, por favor_." I quickly stashed the tracker in my pocket and fumbled around in my backpack for my Spanish book. I stumbled through a paragraph of Spanish. It said something about a girl's family, but I was too distracted by my recent discovery to worry about what the paragraph was saying. Thankfully, I was good enough at Spanish that I could stumble my way through it and still sound better than half the people in the classroom.

I barely knew the Star, but she was one of only three people I'd been in constant contact with since coming to this new town. I wouldn't go so far as to call her a friend—but she was nice.

I grumbled under my breath. Why had Vlad wanted me to start school anyway? Capturing the Points was so much easier because I hadn't known any of them at all. I just tracked them down with Vlad and captured them. There was no first-name basis there. Well, there was that one Point, but she was easily dealt with; she was in a holding cell under heavy anesthetics now. Even in that situation, I hadn't actually _known _that girl.

Who was I kidding? I didn't know the Star either. She had just been one person who had been nice to me.

I would turn her in to Vlad though. It was my duty to turn her in. There was no other choice, really. I may have been human, but I was also Vlad's ghost minion. I obeyed him.

* * *

**Jazz**

Class sped by. We had mere minutes before the bell rang once Mrs. Harpy finished teaching for the day, but Sam said she had something she was going to ask Danny. I braced myself for the worst. Sam wasn't completely done with her helpful spree from the last few days. I could only imagine what other things she would do to try and "help" me.

She caught my eye before she stood up and walked back two desks to sit in front of Danny. "Hey, you," she greeted forcefully. I couldn't help but to think of couples greeting each other in that manner. The girl would walk up to the guy and whisper. "Hey, you."

This greeting was nothing like a couple's greeting. Sam talked to Danny as if she were demanding Danny to look at her and listen.

"Yes?" he answered. I couldn't get over how polite he talked. I didn't think I had heard him stutter once yesterday while I was tutoring him. A thought came back to me—the first day he'd come to school and I had seen him in the office. I had been turned the other direction, about to leave.

"_Thanks," he had mumbled. "I mean, thank-you." _

I had thought it weird that we would say that, so I had turned to look at him. All I had seen was Danny looking away from his father.

Maybe Danny's dad had instilled manners in him. That was a good thing. Most guys didn't have that manners anymore.

"So me, Jazz, and Tuck are going bowling tonight. You're invited."

I could see he had no idea what she was talking about. He also looked...apprehensive. He looked worried about something.

"Bowling?"

"Yeah, have you not ever been?" Sam asked, amazed.

"No, I haven't," he admitted.

Sam looked like she was about to bust. "I can't believe you've never been bowling! You have to come!"

"I really doubt my dad would let me—"

"Ask him anyway; you have to come."

There it was with the dad thing again. Why hadn't I picked up on it before? He had brought up his dad when I had mentioned tutoring him. Teaching a kid manners was one thing—ruling his life was another. My eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Trust me. He—"

Poor Danny couldn't get a word into the conversation. "I won't hear it. Here's my number. Call me if you can come." Sam reached for her backpack. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, scribbled on the paper, and shoved it into Danny's hand.

"I—okay," he finally conceded.

"Great." The bell rang just as she finished talking. She smiled as Danny stood up and rushed past her. "There. A job well done," she commended herself.

I rolled my eyes. "You need to work on your people skills."

"Jazz, when are you going to learn that while my people skills may not be up to par, I get more people to do what I want them to do than you do."

I gaped at her. "You force them to do it."

"I still have more so—" She stuck her tongue out at me.

* * *

**Danny**

Bowling.

Bowling?

What was bowling? It couldn't be worth getting myself in trouble with Vlad.

That was why Sam's phone number was now in a garbage can. I had no use for it because I would never say anything to Vlad about bowling. Oh, I would tell Sam I asked him. Why? Because I was beginning to fear Sam's power almost as much as Vlad's.

I thought about how happy Vlad would be now that the Star had been identified. I concentrated on Vlad's happiness rather than focus on my unwillingness to tell him about the Star. I was only making the revelation harder on myself.

My foot hit the floor of my bedroom, and I changed back to human. I slowly peeled my backpack off my back. (Vlad had finally decided to get me one after a couple of days of school. He said carrying those books around in my arms would eventually harm my fighting ability.)

I stared at my bedroom door for thirty seconds before I moved forward. Tell Vlad now. Tell Vlad now.

It would be easier if I just told Vlad now.

Quicker than I wanted to be, I was in the lab. Vlad was tinkering with objects that would one day soon be the Machine that would end the Star's life. I bowed before Vlad as he looked my way.

"News?" he asked excitedly.

"The Star was identified today, Master," I answered him.

He dropped a piece of metal onto the floor and walked across the room to me. "Stand up; look at me," he demanded. I obeyed. His face was screaming happiness. "Who is it? Do you know him?"

"Yes, Master. I know her—"

"Her? Who is it?"

* * *

**A/N: **In complete honesty, I've had this scene played out in my mind for _ages. _And I had planned on revealing exactly who the Star was in Danny's first section. But when I sat down to write it, it kinda took on a mind of it's own and now I've written a great cliff hanger. Yay!

So now that I've narrowed down the choices, whichever girl it ends up being is going to determine the direction this story takes. Who is it? Give me your thoughts please!


	10. Chapter 7: Bowling

**A/N: **Busy, busy, busy, busy!

But I still found a second to post this. Thank-you to all my readers and reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DP.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Bowling

* * *

**Danny**

I answered him.

"Remember that girl who offered to tutor me?" He nodded excitedly. I spat the answer out: "Her."

His face was painted with glee and disbelief. "Her! Truly, could fate be so kind as to have this girl delivered on a silver platter right into our hands! She offered herself up for her _destruction_!"

I knew better than to show my inner turmoil in giving Vlad what he wanted. I stood stone still as I watched him pace to and fro; he started by standing beside me. Then he paced off to the right, towards his secret door I wasn't allowed in; then he paced left, toward the shelves upon shelves of ghost related weapons; then he paced straight back into the heart of the lab.

There were dozens of tables and counters in the heart of the lab, many of which were covered in papers detailing important ghost information (they probably had a lot to do with his ghostly helpers he plucked out of the ghost zone—like that big, metal one, Skulker) and still other tables were covered in experimental ghost weapons. One table was relatively clean and neat. It was the table Vlad had been standing at when I'd walked into the lab—the one dedicated solely to Vlad's life work, the Star project.

And looming in the center of the wall, a watchful eye stood amongst all the chaos of the lab. It was Vlad's ghost portal. No matter where we were, Vlad always managed to find a place with enough ghostly supernatural power to tap into the ghost zone. Vlad would find a place for the ghost portal and buy out a person's house.

Vlad was now standing in the eerie green glow of the portal, hands in the air, still shouting victoriously at our good fortune. I still didn't move. He hadn't dismissed me, and who knew if he were through drawing information out of me?

At that moment, he padded back across the length of the room to stand in front of me.

"What is her name?" he demanded.

"Jazz, sir," I replied.

He started at the name, and I had to wonder if he had ever gotten my sister's name.

"Very well," he stated, seeming to be distracted. His eyes narrowed, and his eyes shifted to me. "I want you to spend as much time as possible with this girl. Get to know her. I will allow you to be tutored four days a week for two hours. Everyday but Friday. You're mine on the weekends. We will get the Star Machine built in four weekends if we push it."

I remained silent and listened, all the while remembering the bowling invitation tonight.

"I may also want you to gain her trust as Phantom," Vlad continued. I tried to keep my surprise at bay. He'd never asked _that _before. Oh well. Vlad worked the way he wanted to, and whatever he said, I did. "Maybe, maybe not. Who knows? I may change my mind. I'll have to sit down and plan it out..."

Vlad rambled for another minute, saying something about ultimate power and the world bowing down to him. I simply remained in my place. It wouldn't be the first time Vlad forgot I was in the room. I had once spent five hours standing in one spot because Vlad had not dismissed me from talking with him. He had simply returned to his tinkering, leaving me standing. But I hadn't dared to move an inch, in fear of his reaction.

Thankfully, Vlad snapped out of it after a moment and returned his gaze to me. "Do you have any more valuable information?"

I didn't hesitate too long in fear of Vlad reprimanding me of stalling conversation, but I couldn't not hesitate. After all, I was afraid of what Vlad would make of my next statement. "Yes, Master. The Star and her friends are going out tonight and asked if I would like to go with them. I told them I did not think you would allow it, but—"

"Go!" Vlad interrupted, with a wave of his hand and a wide, bright smile. "This is the exact opportunity I was talking of earlier! Make much of it, but don't stay out too long. Be back by nine o'clock. I want to train some more tonight, and we may begin working on the Machine." Vlad's eyes were wide with excitement. "Leave now!"

I quickly obeyed, and returned to my room. The bright side of the situation was that I was going to be able to figure out what was so great about this bowling thing. The dark side was that Jazz would eventually die because of it.

I had the phone in my hand when I realized the other dark side of the situation.

I had thrown Sam's phone number away.

* * *

**Jazz**

Sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for Sam to finish getting ready to go, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not Danny's dad would let him come tonight. A big part of me was hoping that he wouldn't. That part of me was totally fine with the idea of leaving my fragile heart and life in its current, pleasant state where no hurt or harm would ever come to it as long as I kept unpleasant thoughts handcuffed.

A smaller part of me was hoping that he would be able to come. That part of me still wasn't sure what to think about the pain it would cause me to be in such close contact to someone who reminded me of my brother, but that side knew that facing him was the only way I would ever be able to truly be healed from this demon that plagued my mind.

I laid my head on the table and sighed heavily. Why was it that the best mental state I could acquire later in life meant that I had to choose the hardest path to take at the moment? It wasn't fair.

"There's my little fighter," I heard Patty say as her feet hit the linoleum floor in the kitchen.

I lifted my head off the table to look at her quizzically. "What?"

She smiled. "Sam told me about that Danny kid you're tutoring."

I was shocked at that. "Sam never talks to you about stuff like I do."

Patty smiled. "Well, I got inquisitive when you dropped her off yesterday and drove off with a strange boy in your car." I laughed.

"You know me better than that, Patty."

"Truly, I do," she murmured. "Which makes me wonder how you're holding up. It's got to be hard on you."

"Yeah, it's not easy. I even had a nightmare last night," I admitted. "But I've got to face my...dislike of the name Danny one day. Sam's pushing me to not put it off. I think I'm going to stop giving her my psychologist speeches. She listens more than I thought she did."

Patty laughed at that. "She means well."

"Sure do!" Sam exclaimed as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. Patty and I looked at her. She was smirking at us. The smirk fell away quickly though as she checked her phone and grumbled, "Guess he wasn't able to come tonight."

"Who?" Patty asked.

"Danny Masters," we both answered at the same time. Patty was startled.

"You invited him tonight?"

"Yep. I'm going all out on this whole deal. I'm going to completely heal Jazz of her disease," Sam stated proudly.

"It isn't a—"

"Whatever," Sam interrupted, holding her hands up. She moved closer to my seat at the table. "We should probably get going. We don't want Tucker to have the chance to try and flirt his way into getting us free bowling again."

The doorbell rang then. All three of us scrunched our eyebrows together in confusion.

"You girls invite someone over?" Patty asked, getting up to answer the door.

"No; Tucker is meeting us at the bowling alley," Sam answered as Patty moved out of sight. She turned back to me. "Anyway, that was bad, remember?"

I was trying to remember the last time we went bowling, but I couldn't remember the specifics. "Remind me." We both grabbed out things and stood up.

Sam snorted. "We ended up having to pay twice as much and got squished between two groups of guys better fit for a bar than a bowling alley. It was horrible."

I laughed. "Oh yeah. I remember that one guy trying to teach you how to bowl. He was all big and muscular and—"

"Probably still in the hospital after that beat down I gave him."

It was then that Patty came back into the room.

"Girls, there's someone here to see you," she announced.

I was stunned when Danny walked around Patty and waved sheepishly. "Hey. I must have lost Sam's number somewhere between Spanish and home because I searched everywhere for it, but came up empty."

Silence stretched on for one more beat. Then Sam smiled. "You're dad said yes?"

"Surprisingly enough, yes," Danny answered. Then he frowned. "But I have to be home before nine."

"Don't worry about it," Patty told him. She looked at him, then us. "So do they."

After a few more seconds of idle conversation, Sam, Danny, and I were riding down the road toward the bowling alley.

I found that the two parts of me were in totally opposite places right now. The side that liked things the way they were was angry that Danny had come along. The side that knew what was best for me was glad he'd been allowed to come. That side was hopeful that tonight would be a turning point—that I would finally be able to let go of the past and look toward the future.

Still, no matter what happened, I would never be able to let go of the past completely. And that steadfastness was what kept the part of me wishing Danny wouldn't have come tonight.

* * *

**Danny**

"Can't believe you remembered where we lived," Jazz commented.

"Well, I tend to pay close attention to where I'm at all times, so it was easy to show my dad how to get here." _More like, I flew here by myself and Vlad has no idea where you live. At least, he doesn't yet. __Considering you're the key to his plan, I won't be surprised when he finds out. _I didn't figure Jazz wanted to hear the true explanation.

"He just dropped you off and that was that?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded, putting on a sheepish grin for her sake. "He's the type to assume that if you asked me to go, you won't mind me showing up unannounced at your house," I answered wryly.

The conversation kept a steady pace the entire drive. I threw in bits and pieces as necessary. Surprisingly, it was easy to carry on as if I lived a normal life, but even after more than a week of being in school, I still felt like an outcast.

For one thing, I had noticed that no one talked like I did. I talked with respect—that's what Vlad had called it. He'd drilled respect into me since I was four. I wasn't supposed to stutter or trip up on my words or look somewhere else when I talked to him. I had assumed that the rest of the world acted like that.

After being in such constant contact with people my age, I realized that I had assumed wrong. Everyone threw around words as if they meant nothing and stuttered over almost everything they said. I had begun to realize that speaking the way I did was probably causing me to stick out. I had tried to tone down the proper-speak, but I wasn't having much luck. I was too afraid that it would become a habit and I would accidentally say something wrong around Vlad. Messing up around Vlad was the last thing I needed.

When we walked into the bowling alley (Sam had unknowingly supplied the name of the place for me during the conversation), the first thing that happened surprised me. Sam ran head-long through the doors and tackled Tucker, who was standing next to a long counter, to the ground.

I turned to Jazz for an explanation.

She smiled and said, "Tucker doesn't get much accomplished when he flirts with the workers." We were walking to the desk at a more normal pace. When we got there, Sam was handing me a pair of shoes.

"C'mon," she ordered, turning to run and grabbing my hand at the same time. "I can't wait to show you how to bowl."

And so began the night. I bowled two strikes (I found out strikes were good when the three people I was there with jumped up and started screaming and hollering) and three gutter balls (I found out those were bad when the same three people offered condolences to me because of the gutters).

Sam finally won; apparently, she was the best. I upset the balance of things by scoring more than Tucker, leaving him at the bottom of the four of us.

We were at the Nasty Burger, enjoying milk shakes, when the weird thing happened. I was sitting there, very carefully keeping one eye on the clock while I sipped on my drink. The other three were laughing loudly about how Tucker had managed to get a strike on our lane and the lane next to us. I had thought it was talented and had shouted "Good job!" The others had gotten a good laugh at my antics as well.

The place was very busy, but I wasn't paying much attention to other people there until my ghost sense went off. One moment I had been sitting with my hand under my chin and the next, I was on high alert. I straightened up and glanced around swiftly, fearing a ghost attack or worse—that Vlad may have sent someone to spy on me.

I saw nothing out of the ordinary though. There were no floating specters in sight and no one seemed scared out of their mind (which was the normal response for a human to have when they saw one of us).

I must have looked crazy because Jazz asked, "Danny? You okay?"

I shook my head and looked at her. She was all smiles. Happy. In three weeks that happy face would be wiped out for good. I smiled back. "Yes...yeah. It's...just...it's eight-thirty," I noted, pointing to the clock on a wall.

She laughed and shot a pointed look at Sam. "See, I'm not the only one concerned with curfews."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam agreed, exasperated. "But I seem to be the only one concerned with fun."

We left after that, but I couldn't help looking around the place once we were outside. I didn't see a ghost. I frowned. It had probably been one of Vlad's goons making sure I was doing what I needed to be doing.

That was it. _Yep, of course it is_, I decided as I slid into the backseat of Jazz's car. _No need to bee paranoid. _

But as we drove off, I couldn't help but glance back at the unassuming building in wonder.

* * *

**A/N: **Boring chapter. Yep, I know. But you finally know who the Star is, and it gives you something to think about at the end. I suppose this was really a filler chapter, but if you think about it, it's important. It shows Danny getting closer to Jazz and the bunch.

Give me your thoughts please!


	11. Chapter 8: Attack

**A/N: **Chapter 8! I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

And...

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

* * *

**

Chapter Eight: Attack

* * *

**Jazz**

"Jazz, I want to tell you something," Patty announced as she opened the door to my bedroom not ten minutes after Danny had left. I glanced up at her. She looked worried.

"Are you alright?" I asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Jazz," she answered. "I need to tell you about a new kid coming here in the next couple of days."

My eyes lit up. "How old is he?" I asked. I loved to help take care of the little ones. "Four, five..."

"Sixteen."

My face dropped. "Oh." I frowned. "Wait. What happened to his parents?" It was very unusual for Patty to receive teenagers. She usually cared for kids under ten. (Sam was a special situation.) And even then, the kids didn't stay in her care for very long. They were usually adopted soon after they arrived. But the fact still remained that Patty was a long-term foster care-taker, and while that explained why I _could _still be here, it didn't explain why I _was _still here.

Patty sighed, a sad look passing over her face. "His parents died in a when their house burned down. Dean—that's his name—miraculously found his way out of the fire alive."

I gasped. "That's so horrible!" Then I frowned. "I haven't heard of any houses burning around here."

"It was up north. Dean has some relatives living here in Amity Park. That's where he'll eventually end up, but while the courts work out the details, he's got to stay in a foster home. The agency sent him to me."

"So he'll only be here..."

"A month. Maybe more, maybe less," Patty confirmed. I nodded my head.

"Thanks for warning me, Patty," I told her. I still had a hard time functioning around guys. Well, not all guys. Actually, not most guys. It was just the guys that were my age or older. It was hard to deal with them. The fact that the majority of them were pigs didn't help their cause, either.

I said bye to Patty as she left my room, and I began to settle in for a long night of (hopefully dreamless) sleep.

The next week passed in a blur of normalcy—well, the new normalcy. Danny let me know that his dad was now allowing him to be tutored everyday but Friday for two hours a day (even though I had originally told him that I was only able to tutor for an hour after school, I agreed to the two hours mostly because it would help us get done faster in the long run), but that he wouldn't be able to make it this upcoming Monday. I didn't question him, but the two parts of my mind were at it again, trying to fight it out and tell me whether spending two hours a day every day with Danny would better or worsen my mental health.

Thankfully, Danny was a fast learner. He picked up Spanish almost as quickly as I had, and I was amazed that by the end of the next Thursday's tutoring session, we were carrying on a conversation in Spanish at a level far above anyone else in the class (even though we were probably still on the bottom of the know-nothing scale when it came to _actually _speaking the language). He was even better at it than Sam, and she wasn't too shabby.

"I practice at home whenever I can," he admitted. "I like the challenge of learning something new."

I began to help him more in his other subjects than I did Spanish the next Monday. He told me that he had started to understand more of the material, but that he was still failing the majority of his subjects. I could hardly believe one person could be failing every subject so badly.

In a weird way, I had started to look forward to our afternoon sessions. I hadn't had anymore nightmares, and the tutoring sessions had started to become a breath of fresh air. Danny was an okay kid, and the more I focused my mind on what I was saying rather than the name of the person I was saying those things to, the better I was able to function.

My life was more than Danny Masters though.

Dean Longhouse had moved into our home the Tuesday after Patty had told me about him coming. I had come home from the library to be met with the sight of a tall, blonde, and handsome boy sitting on the couch, idlely flipping through the television channels.

"Hi, you must be Dean," I'd begun carefully.

He had smiled at that (and against my will and better judgment, my heart had stopped for half a second) and answered, "Yeah. That's me."

"My name's Jazz." I had let my backpack slip off my shoulder and onto the living room floor. I didn't have any homework tonight, but I had planned to read ahead for my history class. Suddenly, getting ahead in class didn't seem as important as talking to Dean. And how could this guy smile after the horrible ending his parents had seen? I didn't say anything about the fire, though. I didn't want to be responsible for dredging up painful memories.

"The red-head. Yeah, I remember Patty telling me about you. I saw you drop the other girl off earlier."

"Really?" I had asked. And that's where it started. We ended up spending an hour talking and laughing on the couch. The next day went the same. And the same the next day. Talking with Dean became a natural part of my day.

A third part of me tore away from my mind. Well, I suppose this tear could actually couple itself with the already hesitant side of my mind that warned me to steer clear of Danny Masters—though that side had started dimming away lately. This third side of my mind kept telling me to stop talking to Dean. It told me that I was setting myself up for another fall like I had had with John. I tried not to listen, but failed. I always found a reason to get away from Dean after an hour or so of hanging out with him.

All in all, things in my life were starting to fall back into a pattern—the shake-up I'd had with Danny Masters being nearly three weeks old now. School, library with Danny (except Fridays), talk with Dean at home, find excuse to get away from him, do homework. Basically, that pattern was how I had come to expect my day to play out now. And, really, I didn't hate it as much as I figured I would have.

* * *

**Danny**

My life had been almost the same every day since the day we went bowling. I had easily caught onto Spanish, but in the process of doing that, I was also trying to get Jazz to ease up when she was around me. I wasn't blind. I noticed the way she seemed reluctant to spend time with me (even though she always spent time with me with no verbal denial).

While Jazz was teaching me Spanish, Vlad was reminding me of how to fight. I was in the training room everyday only seconds after getting home from my tutoring sessions. I was completely worn out by eight o'clock, which was when we usually stopped for the night. Vlad sent me off, always muttering about putting the finishing touches on his plan.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out this plan, though. I thought we already had our plan together. I thought we were almost finished with it. We knew who the Star was, right? What else was left? I didn't question him about it though. No, I knew better than that.

It was the Monday after the second weekend of working on the Star Machine (which was coming along rather nicely and right on schedule). I was staring at what Jazz told me was a chemical equation, and she was trying to explain to me how to balance it.

"All you have to do is make sure each element has the same number on both sides."

I sighed angrily and looked up at her with a confused expression, my shoulders sagging.

She smiled, probably trying not to laugh. "Okay, okay. Let's take a break for a few minutes, huh?" I heartily agreed and pushed the books out of the way so I could lay my head down on the table. How much longer could I keep up this crazy pace? Pushing my mind to limit for two hours, followed right after by pushing my body to the limit.

After a couple of minutes, I looked back at Jazz. She was staring off into space, seeming to be thinking about something.

"Thinking hard or hardly thinking?" I asked. I had heard that saying a few days ago and instantly loved it.

She looked back to me, smiling. "Somewhere in the middle," she admitted. She looked down at her hand. "Hey, mind if I tell you something?"

Slightly wary (because Jazz always kept my attention focused on schoolwork), I shrugged. "Sure, go ahead."

She sighed. "Would you be mad if I told you that I used you?"

I frowned. "No, because I gained something important out of whatever you were using me for."

She smiled. "I guess that's true. You really do need help, don't you?" I nodded my head quickly. She laughed. "Seriously though, I used you. You see, I have this problem with guys named Danny." I remembered Sam telling me that. She hadn't outright told me that it was Jazz with the problem, but it hadn't been hard to figure out. "And Sam sort of convinced me to tutor you so that I could get over it." I nodded, not able to figure out what the big deal was about the name Danny.

"It happened so long ago," Jazz sighed under her breath, looking away momentarily. She had been so quiet, I wasn't sure she had actually said it. She looked back at me with an apologetic expression plastered on her face. "That's why these tutoring sessions were so hard on me to begin with. I'm guessing you picked up on my...less than friendly attitude."

I shook my head. "Actually, no. You were friendly enough. Sure, it looked like you didn't really want to be dong it, but I didn't question it."

"You're a good kid, Danny," she told me, smiling. I smiled back, although I knew deep inside that I was anything but a good kid. She seemed to shake herself out of the moment. "Okay, so do you have your Spanish project done?" she asked.

I tried to suppress a groan. We had a family tree project due in Spanish this Wednesday, and I hadn't had time to get it done between working with Jazz, training with Vlad, and helping him build the Star Machine. The Spanish project wasn't even that hard. I just had to pick six family members and write two sentences about them in Spanish. It didn't even have to be _my _family.

"Haven't started," I admitted.

"What?" Jazz asked, surprised.

"Let me guess...you have yours done, right?" I asked her.

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, I just need one more picture, but then it'll be complete."

"Are you doing your family?"

"Yeah. Me, Sam, Patty, Tucker, Dean, and...and my brother." I nodded, frowning. Patty was a familiar name. Where had I heard it before? And hadn't Jazz said that she hadn't seen her brother in years?

"I thought you and Sam weren't related," I noted, attempting to carry on the conversation. "And I know you and Tucker aren't."

"Well, they're family to me, even if we're not biologically related. They're my only family, really." I bit my lip. I had come to realize that, in normal society, most people always said what was on their mind. Most people asked questions I knew Vlad would have killed me for asking. But there was a fine line, as I was beginning to realize, between saying what was on your mind and asking something too personal. I had a feeling anything I said about her family comment would be too personal.

After a beat of silence, she asked, "So, are you doing your family?

"Well, there's me, dad..." I trailed off for a moment, attempting to look completely lost. "Nope, making it up," I told her. She laughed.

"What about your...is it a brother or sister? You said you had a sibling. And you can always do grandparents and cousins." I realized that Jazz was trying to be helpful. She had no way of knowing what my family life was really like.

"I'm just going to stick with make believe." Besides, we had to have a picture of everyone. The only picture I had of my sister was ten years old. And I didn't like looking at it; it made me sad for what could've been.

"Fine. You want me to give you a few minutes to work on your sentences since you haven't even started?" Jazz asked.

My face lit up with a smile. "Sure. Thanks, Jazz."

"No problem. I really need to go look at a book for my English report anyway. I'll be back in a few minutes." She stood up, but she didn't turned away. "Holler if you need help...not that you should."

"_Si_, _señorita_," I answered.

Two minutes hadn't even passed since Jazz had left, but I was already working on the second sentence for my second make-believe person when my ghost sense went off. I jerked my head up instantly, scanning the place for a ghost. Could Vlad have someone watching me here? But why now? It had been two weeks since I'd started being tutored. Why would Vlad choose now to send someone to watch me.

As I searched for the ghost, I was reminded of that night in the Nasty Burger. I was confused and worried, just like I had been that night. However, unlike that night, there was one small difference. Tonight, I had found the ghost.

I recognized him immediately because he was one of Vlad's more common employees. His name was Skulker. I'd fought him for practice lots of times. He wasn't my favorite ghost to mock fight with though. He said Vlad and I were two very rare items, and that he wanted us in his collection. Since he was afraid of Vlad, he had settled on trying to get me. Of course, Skulker would never attack me without Vlad's permission, but every time Vlad had us fight for practice, I was usually mere moments from being skinned alive before Vlad stepped in and stopped Skulker.

I gritted my teeth together. Skulker was an odd one to send to spy on me. I stood up in anticipation of a fight, but froze when Skulker moved closer to Jazz, who had her head buried in a book, with her back facing me.

"Jazz! Move!" I screamed.

Somebody hushed me from not too far away, but Jazz looked up at me. In doing so, she caught sight of Skulker looming above her.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screeched. The book went flying in the air as Jazz ran away from the ghost. I was doing the opposite of Jazz: I was running _toward _the ghost.

Suddenly, I heard Jazz yell. "Danny, what are you doing!" I made the mistake of looking toward the voice. I saw Jazz, standing in the doorway to the library, looking back at me as if I were crazy.

Then Skulker ran into me and we both went flying though the wall outside.

* * *

**A/N: **Ooh, what's gonna happen? Tune in for the next chapter to find out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Give me your thoughts on Dean and Skulker!


	12. Chapter 9: Arbol Familia

**A/N: **Chapter 9 everyone! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Nine: Árbol Familia

* * *

**Jazz**

"DANNY!"

I ran toward where that...ghost...had just pushed Danny through the wall. Was Danny alright? What had he been thinking? He had run right to that ghost. Was he crazy?

I was shaking in fear. I hadn't seen a ghost in two years. I had almost convinced myself I had made the other ghost I'd seen up, but I knew that in the back of my mind, I would always have that ghastly memory.

"Danny!" I banged on the concrete wall in vain.

* * *

**Danny**

I was now floating above the ground, eye level with Skulker. "He wants what now?" We were in the alley behind the library.

Skulker impatiently respond, "Your master sent me here to do a mock fight with you in front of that human girl in there, whelp. He wants me and you to fight—and make it good—and he wants me to let you win. He wants you to make it look like you're protecting everyone in there. But he wants us to make sure the red-head sees the whole thing."

I frowned, trying to make sense of the request. I remembered Vlad saying something a couple weeks ago about maybe getting Jazz to trust Phantom. I had figured he would've let me know about the plan before-hand though.

"Alright, let's do it then," I agreed. Now it made sense why Vlad had sent Skulker, who had to have been the one most likely ghosts to put up a decent fight. I was about to phase through the wall when I thought of something. "And Skulker, keep in mind what's going on. I doubt Vlad will be happy with you if you kill me, especially since I'm supposed to be winning this fight."

With that, I sent myself flying through the wall in a way that made it look like Skulker had thrown me. I heard the screams as people caught sight of me, including Jazz, who was standing next to the wall.

I caught myself and floated up to meet Skulker head-on. He was already there, firing up a blaster.

"Why are you here, Skulker?" I asked in a menacing voice as I dodged the blast and fired up an ecto-blast.

"Because, ghost child, you are a valuable prize." He avoided my shot and sent one back so quickly I didn't have a chance to respond. I landed on a bookshelf, causing the shelf to fall over. I growled and stood up, barely glancing at the mess.

"Leave these people alone!" I charged at him with two glowing fists. He smirked.

I gasped when I found myself unexpectedly plastered on what seemed to be an invisible force field surrounding Skulker.

"Like the new ecto-shield, whelp? Plasmius is kind to his helpers."

_Well, he's kind to all the paid help, _I thought dryly. _Not so much to me._

I glared at him, not having to fake the hatred I felt toward him. I screamed in rage and started beating against the shield to no avail. I charged my fists again and sent the green ball of energy flying at Skulker. It ricocheted off the force field, flying back to hit me.

"Ugh!" I grunted when the blast hit me, and this time I landed on a computer. I took two seconds to survey the room. It was empty of most life forms, but I could see that five or six people were peeking their head around the front door; one of those people was Jazz.

_Good, _I thought.

Skulker's bellowing laugh interrupted me. I snapped my head to him. "Oh, I could do this all day, child. But let's finish this."

I took that as the cue for me to finish him. I picked up a nearby book, and a thought hit me. "Hey Skulker, do you like reading?" I lobbed the book at him, hitting him between the eyes. He tumbled backward and I raced toward him, hoping that the hit had stunned him enough to knock the shield off. "Well, neither do I!" I raced toward him and punched him hard. He hit the wall with a bang and slid down to the ground.

I grabbed him by the shoulders to pick him up. "And don't come back!" With that, I spun him around and let go, which sent him flying though the wall.

I glanced behind me to see an even smaller audience than before: Jazz was the only one still there. Her eyes were wide, her mouth gaping open. She suddenly gasped and ran away from the door. I raised an eyebrow, then phased through the wall. Skulker was nowhere to be seen.

He really had let me win. That hadn't even been a hard fight. I even—

"Danny?" Jazz's voice rang out from the entrance to the alley. I looked toward it, but didn't see her yet. Hastily, I transformed and hit the ground on my stomach. It had to look like I'd been messed up by Skulker.

"Danny?" I heard again. "Danny!" The voice was much closer now. I heard Jazz's footsteps as she ran down the alley. "Danny, are you okay?" she asked. She hit the ground on her knees and tried to help me up.

"I'm fine. The ghost didn't do anything. That other one showed up and then the big one followed him inside." It was the truth...sort of. I sat up straighter and stretched.

"Oh, you had me scared silly, stupid." She slapped me lightly on my shoulder. "Why did you run toward the ghost?"

We both stood up. I smiled and shrugged. "My dad's into all this ghost stuff. I was trying to get a closer look. It's always kind of interested me." It was amazingly easy to lie.

"Well, it was stupidity," she concluded.

"Yeah, probably," I agreed.

We walked out of the alley. Jazz looked at her watch. "It's almost five. You probably need to head home."

I agreed, and we both went inside to get our stuff to leave. While we were packing up, Jazz commented, "You said you're dad's into ghost stuff?"

"Yes."

"Well, does he know anything about that one you said showed up and saved you?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow. I was amazed at how fast she had asked about it. "I don't know. He may. Why?"

"Well, he was fighting the other ghost. Why would he do that? Does he have something against that particular ghost? Or is he trying to be a hero?"

My mouth was hanging open. She noticed it. "What?" she asked.

"You got all that out of one fight?" I asked.

"Matter-of-fact, yes," she heartily answered. "I want to be a psychologist. I've trained my mind to analyze everything." A few moments of silence passed while we finished with our packing. "Besides," she continued quietly. "That's not the first two ghosts I've ever seen. I saw one two years ago. When I saw him, I got curious and started researching ghosts. From what I've read, ghosts are inherently evil creatures, but that black and white one we just saw was doing something good. He was defending the people in this library. Could that mean that he's trying to fight his nature?"

I tried not to be completely blown away by how much more Jazz seemed to know about ghosts than I had given her credit for. As she drove away, leaving me waiting on my dad (who would never really come; I flew home, of course), I thought of one thing she was wrong about.

I was not trying to fight my nature.

* * *

**Jazz**

I smiled when I caught sight of Dean in the kitchen. I fingered the camera in my hand that I had just snatched from my room, then jumped out in the open. "Smile!" I clicked the button to take it just as he glanced up.

I smiled and looked at the picture. "Not bad...really, it's not."

He laughed. "Any particular reason you're taking my picture?" he asked as he took a bite of pizza.

"Yeah. It's for a school project," I told him. Dean wasn't enrolled in school yet. His new guardians and the courts had decided to let him wait until his life was settled before he was enrolled in school. "Here, I'm deleting this one. Now, let me take a good one." Dean straightened up and smiled brightly. I had to steady myself in the gaze of his smile, but I got the picture. "It's a good one."

The smile didn't vanish. "Good." I showed him the picture. While I was bent over him, he leaned in closer to the camera and put his hand on top of mine. I quickly pulled the camera and my hand back; I started fidgeting with one of the buttons. "Hey Jazz, mind if we talk a minute?"

I smiled at him and said "Sure." I sat down across the table from him, all smiles, but inside I was worried. We always talked, but he'd never actually asked to talk before.

I pushed my hair behind my ears as I waited anxiously.

"When things get settled with my whole family mess, I wanted to know if we could still, ya know, hang out some." He was looking at me with anxious eyes. I knew I acted strange around him—enough so that he could probably figure out there was something wrong with me when it came to guys, even if he didn't know what it was.

"Um...maybe. I mean, yeah, sure. I absolutely love talking to you. It feels like we've talked about everything under the sun," I admitted. We probably had. He even knew my fourth favorite color.

"That's the problem though, Jazz," Dean responded. "We just talk. And then you run off. I wanted to know if you would like to go out to a movie or something one night. It would be fun..." He trailed off, probably at the expression on my face. I had closed my eyes and was now working on keeping my breathing even. It was hard. And my hand was shaking. I dug my nails into my palm in an effort to stop the shaking.

"That...well, not right now, okay?" I asked him. I opened my eyes. "I mean...maybe later on, but—"

"What did he do to you?" Dean suddenly asked.

My shock had to have shown up on my face. "What?"

"I know something's wrong. There's a reason you don't let yourself talk to me any longer than you do, and there's a reason you won't go out with me. I hope it's not just because you don't like me. If it is...well, I understand, even if I don't like it. But, it's not, is it?" he asked. "Someone's hurt you in the past."

I was just staring at him. I didn't confirm his suspicions one way or another. I just stared. How in the world had he figured so much out? Was I really that obvious? Oh, I was...I was! He probably thought I was a fool—a stupid, stupid fool.

"Jazz, who was he?"

I swallowed and took a steadying breath. "He didn't do anything." _Well, he didn't do anything while he was alive._ "It just...ended badly." I looked into Dean's understanding and caring eyes. His eyebrows were bent, trying to convey that he was listening and he wanted to help me through the pain. "I'm sorry. I never talk about this with anyone—not even Sam or Patty."

"I just want to know you more, Jazz," Dean told me. He reached across the table and touched my hand. I didn't pull away this time, but I couldn't meet his eyes. "I just wanted to know if someone had hurt you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you mean something to me, and someone who hurts you should be punished."

I smiled slightly. "Well, he didn't hurt me. It just...I mean, he never got a chance to hurt me. He...died...before he got that chance." Of course, just because he died didn't mean he didn't have the chance to hurt me, but I wasn't going to tell Dean that.

Dean didn't say anything. I decided to look at him. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open. I could tell he hadn't been expecting that. "Jazz...I am so sorry." He stood up and walked around the table. I watched him as he did so. "Stand up," he demanded softly. He took my arm and pulled me into a hug.

I gasped, surprised, but I didn't pull away. It felt nice to have someone else care about me like this. Sam and Patty cared by not bringing it up...ever. Dean didn't know the past. But once I told him, he understood. I had a feeling he wouldn't try to pressure me into a date now. But, then again, he probably wouldn't have to now.

"What's going on in here?" Patty's sharp voice cut through the moment. I quickly pulled away from Dean, feeling him do the same. Suddenly, there were three feet of space between us. Patty was looking back and forth between the two of us. I shouldn't have been surprised at her intrusion. After all, I was practically a daughter to her and Dean was some guy who'd just moved here a week ago. She was being a protective mother.

"Nothing, Patty. It's okay, I promise." I knew that if I gave Patty my word, she would trust me. That's what I liked about being completely honest with my guardian—there was unlimited trust. I walked past her and to the stairs, my mind set on my homework.

But, I realized once I'd sat down on my bed with an open science book in front of me, my mind was really still downstairs in Dean's arms.

* * *

**Danny**

Wednesday morning, in third period, I was the fifth person picked to share my project. I stood at the front of the class and flipped through the pages in my hastily thrown together project. Most people had opted to do a PowerPoint presentation on the computer, but I had absolutely no idea how to operate the program. Thankfully, Spanish was easy for me. This project would bring my grade up a lot.

I was preoccupied the rest of the period. I hardly listened to anyone's project. My mind was on the go almost the entire time. Why did Vlad want Jazz to trust Phantom? What was there to gain from that? He had seemed ecstatic when I had explained Jazz's reaction to the attack the other night. He was acting so strange.

But then, what was with Jazz's reaction? And who was the ghost she'd seen two years ago? I was really curious about that last part. There was a chance that I might know—

"_A_ Patty_ le gusta cosinar el pollo y el arroz_."

My head snapped toward the projector screen, where Jazz was already reading off another slide about Tucker. _Man! I can't believe I zoned out like that! _I had been planning to look at the picture of Patty on Jazz's presentation today (because that was _still _eating up my mind—I couldn't remember where I'd heard that name before!). But I had zoned out so much I hadn't even realized Jazz was at the computer. I growled and slumped down into my chair. So much for putting an end to that mystery.

I had nearly gone back down into my thoughts when another name caught me by surprise.

"_Este es _Danny. _Es el nieto de mis abuelos._"

At the sound of my name, I glanced at the screen, returned my gaze to my desk, then did a double-take.

* * *

**A/N: :) ** This is exciting! Give me your thoughts please!

And Happy Veteran's Day! (Even though it's late)


	13. Intermission II: Danny

**A/N: **Intermission II! Didn't I pick a wonderful place to stick it?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Intermission II: Danny

* * *

This target would probably be the hardest one yet.

She wouldn't be hard to capture because she was hard to find—no, we had found her a week ago—but she was different. I had been watching her the entire week, waiting for the right moment to nab her. While watching her, I realized something—she was different.

I wasn't entirely sure what about her that gave me that feeling. She didn't look different from any other girl in town, but I was positive that she wasn't the same as them either. Maybe something about the way she carried herself or walked around gave me this strange feeling about her. I wasn't sure what her oddity was or why I thought it would make her hard to catch, but I was sure about what I thought—that even though she was smaller and weaker than I was, she _would_ be difficult to catch.

I finally decided that the Point Three would be easiest caught at night. Her house was unprotected at night and she slept on the first floor, with a window facing the backyard. It couldn't get much easier than that.

Late one night…or early one morning—I can't remember which it was—I glanced in the window of the girl's bedroom. She was still awake, scribbling away in some kind of book. I had been sitting there for over an hour waiting on her to fall asleep. It was always easier to kidnap people when they were asleep; they struggled less when they didn't know they were being captured. But this girl wasn't going to go to sleep.

I waited and waited, and I eventually jumped and realized I had fallen asleep myself. I shook my head and glanced at the girl's window. She had to be asleep by now.

Sure enough, as I looked into her bedroom, she was fast asleep, the journal lying on top of her and her lying on top of her covers.

_Finally, _I thought. I phased through the wall and floated over to her bed. As I carefully pulled the journal off of her, I glanced at the writing in it.

_He's sitting outside my window right now. He doesn't think I know he's watching me, but I do. I wish he would just come inside, but I'm not going to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. _

My eyes widened and I looked back at the girl. She was still asleep. I carefully flipped the last few pages over and read an earlier entry.

_There's this guy that keeps following me around. He's weird—I don't think he's human—but that's what makes him interesting. Hopefully he'll stop just following me around and come talk to me. I like talking to people. People are some of the weirdest people there are, according to my dad. _

I shook my head and closed the journal. Who cares if she had seen me? I was home free now. As I set the journal on the floor, a voice startled me.

"Did you read the part that said if I pretended to be asleep you might come inside?"

No matter how well I thought I could handle surprises, I jumped at the sound of the girl's voice. Thankfully, I didn't scream. Slowly, I turned around to face the wide-eyed girl. She was now sitting cross-legged on her bed. Her head was tilted to the right, a curious expression on her face. She was looking straight at me.

"Are you human? Because a human would have had to open the window to get inside and I didn't hear the window open."

I shook my head, hoping that would make the weird night disappear. Sadly, the night stayed, and the girl was still waiting for an answer so I had to give her one.

"No, I didn't read that part," I told her.

She pouted and stood up, stepping close to me. I stepped back. "Well, I guess since you didn't answer that second question, it's all the answer I need. You're not. But what are you?"

I uttered a startled laugh. "What? Look, I need to go."

She grabbed hold of my arm. "No. You need to stay. Why are you here?"

I looked into her deep blue eyes, completely confounded. She was so willing and open.

I had to crush her.

If I didn't, I would never be able to take her and not feel completely guilty. The other two hostages I had captured didn't trust me; why should this girl?

"I'm here to take you hostage for however long it takes to find what I'm looking for," I answered honestly. There, that should get that look in her eyes to fade away.

It didn't.

"Well, why? Are you doing this because you want to or because someone is making you?" she asked.

"Uh...why do you want to know?" I asked.

"Because my daddy always says that no one should ever do anything they don't want to do. That's how I live my life, and that's why I didn't come up to you and talk to you. You didn't seem like you wanted to talk to me, and I didn't want to make you do it. So...do you want to capture me?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but found that there wasn't anything I could say.

She smiled cockily. "See...you don't wanna do this. You're doing it because someone else wants you to, and that's bad, but you'll learn one day." She closed her eyes and held her hands out.

"What are you doing?" I asked, stepping away further. I would have to come back later. This girl would never let me take her; there was no way she wanted to go with me, and, apparently, if she didn't want to go, she wouldn't. Besides, now I knew why this girl was going to be the hardest yet to capture. She was making feel horrible about making her do something she didn't want to do.

"I'm ready to be taken away!" she exclaimed happily.

I lost every thought that had just gone through my mind.

"Say...what?" I asked. She opened one eye.

"Did you not understand me? I said—"

"I heard what you said," I interrupted. "But it didn't make any sense."

She shrugged. "I think it'd be cool to be a hostage. I've never been one before."

I shook my head, laughing quietly. "Whatever you say." I could overlook her craziness if she were going to be so complacent about this. I picked her up, turned intangible, and shot out into the night air.

She shivered once we got outside. "That's was weird. Hey, you're a ghost, aren't you?"

I continued to play her game, however odd it was. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I've read some about them. Where are you taking me? Will I be safe? What's going to happen?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," I answered.

"Fine; if you don't wanna answer, then you don't have to. But one day you'll figure out why you're doing this and whether or not you're doing it because you want to or because someone's making you. I just hope it's not because you want to, because that'd been mean."

I sighed. "I'm doing it because I want to, okay? Is that good enough for you?"

She giggled. "I don't believe you, but okay. Fly safe. I don't like heights, but I've always wanted to fly anyway. Hey, you're cute!

The entire flight home was like that. I was extremely relieved once I set her down at the mansion and injected her with that stuff that made her shut up.

I was right; she was different...but in a good way...or in a weird way.

So, was I really doing this because I wanted to? That question had a simple answer.

Of course I was.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope yall aren't too mad about the abrupt momentary change in direction...:) Review please!


	14. Chapter 10: Fenton

**A/N: **HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING!

Here's Chapter ten! I hope you like!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this show!

* * *

Chapter Ten: Fenton

* * *

**Danny**

I stared at the picture of me and my sister from ten years ago, dumbfounded. How in the world had Jazz gotten hold of my picture? I knew for a certain fact that it was still in the chest in my room. I had looked at it two days ago after the tutoring session with Jazz. And Jazz had never been in my house, let alone my room.

The only other option was that Jazz had that same picture. As Jazz finished her presentation and the picture went away, I couldn't help but think about that possibility. The word's "Danny's copy" were written on the back of the picture of me and my sister and the picture of my parents. Those words had made me think once that my sister probably had a copy of both of them as well.

And here was this girl, whose name was the same as my sister's, who had a copy of the picture only me and my sister must have.

My face morphed from one of confusion into one of amazement. Jazz...was my sister? Jazz was my sister. It only made sense. Sure, thousands of girls could be named Jazz, but how many of those had a picture of me and my sister.

Answer? One. And she was walking back to her desk from Mrs. Harpy's computer right now.

"¡_Muy bien_!" Mrs. Harpy was saying as she stood up from Jazz's desk and walked back to her desk. Jazz must have been the last person picked to go.

My mouth was gaping open and my eyes were wide as I stared at Jazz. When she sat down in her desk, she turned to look back at me. "Are you okay?" She had a worried look on her face.

I tried to compose myself, but even with all my practice of keeping what I was really feeling off my face, I couldn't stop staring at Jazz...at my sister. She really _was _my sister. I was looking at her.

"Danny, are you okay?" She got out of her seat and made her way to the one in front of me. I followed her with my eyes, watching as her concerned face appeared in front of me.

And now the fact that she had a problem with the name Danny made much more sense. She must not like to be reminded of her brother, er...of me. And it was so ironic that Sam just happened to pick me for Jazz to use to get over that problem. How crazy was that?

"Mrs.— "

I grabbed hold of Jazz's raised hand, and smiled at Mrs. Harpy. "I'm fine," I told her, because she was looking at me with a worried expression on her face as well.

I took a deep breath and looked at my sister. Worry was still etched into her face.

I tried to smile at her. "Um...Jazz, I—um, am going to be—uh, I have something that I've gotta get done, er—gotta do here at school before we go to the, uh...the library. It won't take too long so can you...uh, wait for—wait for me?" I hadn't let go of her hand the whole time, but I was now aware I was squeezing it much too hard. I quickly let go.

She was looking at me like I was crazy. "Sure, Danny. I've got a club meeting after school anyway. I was going to tell you I would be late. Guess this works out, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, great. Okay." I looked away from her, busying myself with something in my backpack. I heard her get up and walk away.

I glanced up to see Sam staring at me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah..yes. Fine," I answered her shortly.

She turned away from me, not looking convinced.

It was ten minutes later, in another class, that I put something else together.

My sister was the Star.

* * *

**Jazz**

My first thought after Danny asked me to wait on him this afternoon? _Wow, I've never heard him stutter so much._ My second thought? _Something is very wrong with him._

I had wanted to ask him what was wrong, and why he had been staring at me as if I had two heads. But now that my club meeting was over, while Sam and I were waiting on Danny to get done with whatever it was he had to do, we had to talk about something. And I had the perfect topic.

"Hey, Sam," I began, turning to face her. She looked at me. "I wanna tell you something, and I don't want you to think I'm crazy, okay?"

"Too late, but go ahead," she told me.

I bit my lip, unsure if I should actually bring this up. I hadn't two years ago, but this subject was different—this ghost was different, and this ghost seemed, well, not evil.

"I saw a ghost," I told her simply. It was always best to take the direct approach with Sam, instead of beating around the bush.

A beat of silence passed, and then Sam laughed. "Oh, Jazz...I thought you had something serious to tell me."

I glared at her. "I'm being serious!" I exclaimed.

"Sure you are," Sam sarcastically agreed.

"Seriously, Sam, I saw two ghosts at the library Monday." There wasn't a hint of joking in my face. After a few seconds, Sam stopped laughing and looked at me.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really," I told her again. I leaned against the car, looking at the ground. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you about it for the last two days without you thinking I'm completely nuts."

Sam snorted. "Well, you didn't do a very good job."

I sent a hardhearted glare in her direction even though I couldn't blame her for not believing me. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't already had a previous encounter with a ghost.

"What'd they look like?" Sam asked, seemingly deciding to entertain the notion that I had seen a ghost.

"One was covered in lots of armor and had a flaming green mohawk. The other was smaller and was wearing a black jumpsuit and had white hair and green eyes. He looked almost like a human," I added, mulling the thought over. "Well, if he hadn't have been glowing, that is." I still couldn't get past his green eyes. I had been scarred by green eyes. I knew I had to get passed the fact that this ghost had green eyes, though. Because if this ghost were going to fight to save me and everyone at that library, that meant that not all ghosts with green eyes were bad.

"Yeah, glowing doesn't usually equal human," Sam agreed.

"If you don't believe me, ask Danny; he was there too."

About that time, I saw him walking toward my car. _That's weird, _I wasn't walking from the school. He was walking from another direction entirely.

"Ooh, weirdo's here," Sam commented from beside me. "I'll be in the car."

"Sure, sure," I commented, waving her off. I wasn't paying any attention to her; I was watching Danny as he walked toward me. He was wringing his hands, and he looked crazy nervous. What had happened to make him so nervous?

"Hey, Jazz," he greeted when he was within earshot. I smiled, trying to get him to ease up.

"Are you back to normal?" I asked jokingly.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

"You were on a wire this morning in class. I was just making sure you were back to normal."

He bit his lip and looked at the ground. "Jazz, I want to tell you something. Right here, right now."

The smile slid off my face. Danny wasn't ever this forceful. "Okay."

"Well, actually, I just wanted to show you this picture." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. I was even more confused now. I took the picture out of his hand and—

I froze. "Where did you get this?" I demanded harshly. "This is _my _picture, and you stole it! What were think—"

"It's not your picture, Jazz," Danny interrupted softly.

"What do you mean it's not my picture, of course it's my picture." Tears were coming to my eyes. How had Danny gotten hold of my picture? After copying it onto the computer for my project, I had stashed it away under my bed again. "It's mine," I croaked.

"Jazz, let me explain," Danny said. He reached his hand toward the picture. I jerked it away.

"Stop!" I screamed.

"I need the picture to explain, Jazz." He wasn't being irrational, like I was. He was calm and serene, as if he knew I would react this way. I lowered the picture into his hand. He turned it over and pointed to the back. I almost screamed that I knew what was on the back. The words "Jazz's copy" were scrawled on the back in Patty's handwriting.

But I came up short when I saw the words "Danny's copy."

"What...I don't..." I trailed off as I stared at the picture. The words were written in pen, just like mine, so there was no way to erase them. I looked at Danny. He was just standing there, staring at me, waiting for me.

Patty had told me once that she had made a copy of the pictures I had and had given them to Danny when he was adopted. There was no way in the world anyone else had a copy.

But that would mean...but that would mean...but it didn't make sense. _This _Danny could not be _my _Danny.

But then I made myself look again.

He had the black hair and the blue eyes. He was fourteen, in the ninth grade—two years younger than I was. All the facts had been there, but I hadn't even thought to put them together. I gasped, and a hand went to my mouth. "Oh my goodness!"

"Jazz, I haven't asked you this. What's your last name?"

"F-fenton," I stumbled out.

He smiled a little. "Yeah, mine used to—"

* * *

**Danny**

"Jazz!" I screamed. I caught her in my arms as she fell forward. "Jazz, are you okay?" She didn't answer.

I heard the car door open and close and suddenly Sam was standing right next to me. "What did you do to her?"

"Help now; questions later," I suggested.

"Oh, right." Together, we managed to get Jazz lying across the backseat of her car. Sam was muttering something about her passing out on us. She sent a glare at me. "What were you two talking about?"

I had to think about the answer. Would Jazz want to tell Sam herself? Or would she mind me telling her? The words "Let Jazz tell you" were on my lips, but Sam lurched at me, swung me around, and pinned me to the car.

"I want to hear you spit the answer out this second, boy. What did you say to make my friend pass out?"

Right...Jazz wouldn't mind if I told her.

"Well, the gist of the whole conversation is..." I trailed off. How do I put it? I figured Sam would want the facts straight out and wouldn't appreciate me dragging it out by bringing the picture into play. "I'm Jazz's brother," I finished lamely.

Sam took her hands off my shoulders and stepped back, looking at me quizzically. "Say what?"

I showed her the picture and went through the whole explanation—about how I figured it out this morning and about Jazz's reaction when I showed her the picture. When I was finished, Sam's eyes were bulging.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" she asked. She threw a glance down at Jazz, then looked back at me. "Oh my goodness, you're really him!" I didn't expect what came next. Sam threw her arms around me, squeezing me in a tight hug. "Oh! I can't believe it's really you!" She stepped back suddenly, looking embarrassed. "I am...so sorry. It's just...Jazz has told me so much about you that it got to where I felt like I was missing a brother too. And, well, don't be surprised if _she_ bear hugs you too."

I looked at her. "But that's not how she reacted a few minutes ago. She was—how do I put this?—hysterically irrational."

"Danny," Sam said softly. She put a hand on my shoulder. "She's been hoping to see you again for ten years. Of course she's irrational, but trust me, she'll snap out of it quick. I can already tell you how it'll go. When she wakes up, she'll tackle you and gush for a while. Then she'll want to know every last detail of your entire life. Then she'll want to see your house and bring you back to ours. This could go on for days and weeks."

_But it won't, _I contradicted in my mind. _In a week and a half, she'll be fried._

I had debated some things while I flew to and from home to get the picture after school (carefully avoiding Vlad while at the house). One of the things I had debated was whether to tell Vlad what I had learned about his Star. I decided I wouldn't. I would let things play out with Vlad as if Jazz weren't my sister.

The other thing I had debated was whether or not to disobey Vlad and hide Jazz from him. That was a harder decision—much harder. It was more than just giving him some stranger this time. The Star was my sister. The Star was the one who had to give up her life. The Points would be freed, but the Star would never be free. Did I give my very own _sister—_the one I had hoped to see again for ten years—up for death?

I had no choice, of course. I would have to give her up. It was my duty to Vlad to give him the Star, even if the Star happened to be the very sister I thought I'd never see again in my life. Vlad controlled my life, whether I wanted him to or not. This sacrifice wasn't going to be easy, but it would have to be done.

"_I can help you; you can come with me and I'll help you."_

I fought away the words from two years ago. I had made my decision then, and I was going to stick to it now

Oh well. At least Jazz and I could spend some very happy days together. I would live in guilt from what I'd done, but at least Jazz wouldn't think I'd betrayed her. No, she would die with the satisfaction of getting to spend her last days with her long lost brother. Hey, if I were lucky, maybe Vlad would kill me once he received the power he was supposed to get from the Star, and I would be free from my guilt.

"Danny, look—" Sam started to say.

I was tackled from behind. "Oof!" I exclaimed, but I managed to keep my balance.

"—out," Sam finished lamely.

I almost asked who was behind me, but I realized that would've been a really stupid question. Jazz's arms were circled tight around my waist, and it sounded like she was crying. "Oh, Danny, it's you, it's you! I knew there was something strange about you. Oh, I'm so happy I listened to Sam and—"

"Jazz!" I interrupted. I peeled her arms off of me so I could turn around and face her. But it wasn't two second later that I was hugging her. "I missed you too," I said simply.

"Danny..." She stepped back. "I don't really guess your my _little_ brother anymore." She took a deep breath. "You've grown up and I really doubt you want your big sister hugging all over you like that."

I smiled. "I think I can make an exception given the circumstances." Jazz smiled widely again, and I was suddenly being hugged again.

"Okay guys, can't you two gush over each other once I'm _home_?" Sam asked. She was pointing at the car. "We have been here almost thirty minutes longer than usual. Let's go!" Sam opened the driver's door in a way to show her aggravation.

Jazz laughed and got in the car. I opened the door behind Jazz and slid in.

* * *

**Jazz**

The routine was basically the same as any other day. I dropped Sam off with a warning not to tell Patty anything. Something was cooking in the back of my mind; I wanted to surprise Patty. She would be beyond happy.

Instead of the idle, slightly awkward conversation that we usually had while driving to the library, today, I filled the air with all sorts of questions.

"Did you know you were moving back to Amity Park?" I asked.

"Jazz, I didn't know the name of the city ten years ago," he answered. "But no, I didn't know where we were going when we moved. Besides, I figured you had been adopted. Even if I had known the name of the city, I never would have guessed you'd still be here."

"Really?" Yeah, I felt the same way. I still couldn't figure out why I hadn't been adopted. I was just sticking with the fact that Patty didn't want me to be adopted. But something else was bothering me. Why would his d—it didn't feel right to call him Danny's dad anymore. "What's the name of the guy who adopted you?" I asked, even though I was probably running the risk of sounding extremely random.

"Vlad, why?" he answered. I glanced at him. He was looking at me quizzically.

"No reason. Just curiosity." Vlad Masters…hmm…that name had a ring of familiarity to it. Anyway, so Vlad hadn't told Danny where they were moving? Why not? That was strange.

And now that I knew Danny was my brother, I didn't like Vlad even more. I thought back to what I was thinking the day Sam had asked Danny to come bowling with us. His dad was strict—it seemed like he controlled Danny's life. Danny was always saying something about how his dad might not let him do something. I gripped the steering wheel tight and tried not to show that something was bothering me.

I kept up the stream of conversation though. I wanted to know every single detail of Danny's life. I wanted to know about his favorite things to do, his favorite foods, his favorite TV show, his favorite book, whether he'd ever had a girlfriend, where he'd lived before moving here, and on and on and on.

If the questions annoyed him (or if he wanted to ask me anything), he didn't show it. He just answered one question after another. "I like running and exercising." "My favorite food would have to be lasagna." "I don't watch TV or read books." "I've never had a girlfriend." "I've lived in six different places..."

When he had given that answer, my eyes had bugged. "Six? Wow."

_That's not right—moving a kid around like that._ I knew I was only searching for reasons to not like Vlad. That was when something hit me.

My mind shifted back to last December. I had strolled through the room while Patty was watching a special on the newest billionaire of the year. His name was Vlad Masters.

Thankfully, I had just turned the car off at the library or else I would've wrecked.

"Oh my goodness—you're rich!" I suddenly exclaimed.

He flinched. "Yeah. You must've heard of Vlad." We were getting out of the car now.

"That's amazing, Danny. Oh, I want every single detail of your life!"

Walking through the doors to the library, I was sure this was going to be the best tutoring session yet.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry guys, I'm not too good with awkward moments. Hopefully this was good enough. Oh well. It's just the last step in the first part of the story. Now it's on to the second part!

And hey, don't fret over those random words from two years ago, okay? Review please!


	15. Chapter 11: Flower Field

**A/N: **The last chapter was the place I got the first time I tried to write this story. I just skipped the upcoming part and went on to write the end of the story. I had major writer's block. I had the beginning and end of the story, but I couldn't find a way to connect them.

Well, this is what came out of months of procrastination. I revamped the beginning of the story (big time) and got my ideas down on paper so I could remember what I needed to get done. Hopefully, the middle of the story will be exciting enough to hold your attention. And remember, there are still two more intermissions to go! Who knows where they'll pop up?

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Flower Field

* * *

**Danny**

Not much studying was going on, but I figured we would still sit at the library until five o'clock; after all, it had become something of a routine. There were books strewn all over the table, but they hadn't been given a second glance.

Jazz was quizzing me on my life, as Sam had predicted she would do. I was answering as honestly as I could without giving away too much information. Other than my answering though, I hadn't gotten to say much of anything. I didn't want to ask her the kind of questions she was asking me. I wanted to know who she was now, not who she had been every year before now. But I was letting her have her fun.

She switched topics suddenly.

"Okay, what was your favorite thing about elementary school?"

I gave her a half smile. "I thought I already told you this; I was home-schooled."

A dark looked passed over her face. "Oh yeah, and now I can get on to you for being such a horrible student." She slapped my arm playfully. "Seriously, you need to pick up your grades."

"Sorry, Jazz, it's just hard," I admitted. "I'm trying my hardest, and your tutoring has helped a bunch, but school stuff isn't my strong point." That was the cold truth. My strong point was the fact that I was half-ghost. I may not like the fact, but I was strong because of it.

"Speaking of strong points," Jazz began, and I was happy to find that the questionnaire of the last ten years of my life was over for now. "Didn't you say that Vlad was into ghost stuff?"

Suddenly wary of the direction of this conversation, I replied, "Yeah, he researches them and everything. Why?"

"Because I think it's kind of ironic that Mom and Dad were ghost hunters and you were adopted by a guy who gets his kicks by researching ghosts."

The fact that I had never thought about that before wasn't what surprised me about what Jazz said; the fact that she had brought up our parents was the surprising part.

My eyebrows lowered. "Can't believe you brought that up," I admitted.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, you seemed to have trouble thinking about me. Is it different with our parents?" Once again, I was aware of the fine line between questions that were okay and questions that were too personal. I would wager that if I had asked her about her parents yesterday, she would've never spoken to me again.

Surprisingly enough, she laughed. "I don't mind it so much with them. Do I avoid the subject? Yeah, of course. But it doesn't hurt as much when that subject comes up." I stared at her for a moment. Something about that confession didn't seem to add up. Why would hearing about our parents not bother her as much as hearing about me?

I didn't push the subject though, and neither did she.

"So, that reminds me. You've got to come to supper tonight. You have to see Patty. You remember Patty, right?" Jazz asked.

Patty. There was that name again. And now that I knew Jazz had never been adopted and was still living in the same place we'd been living in ten years ago...things were starting to fall into place. That's where I knew the name from, of course! Patty was the woman who had given me up to Vlad.

Patty was the woman who had been standing at the door that day.

"Hello?" Jazz asked.

I snapped back to the moment and smiled. "Sorry. I've been hearing you say that name for the past few days and it's been bugging me like crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard it before. Now it makes sense."

She smiled a brilliant smile. "Well, why don't we pack up here and head over there. I know she'll go nuts over you."

I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was almost five. "Uh...why don't we hold of until tomorrow? I need to—"

"Ask Vlad?" she finished for me.

I gave her a quizzical look. "How'd you know?"

"Danny, that's your answer to almost _anything _we ask you to do."

Really? I wasn't paying attention to what I was saying then. Was I being too obvious? I hoped not. I would need to lay off the Vlad thing before Jazz got the idea he was controlling my life.

Of course, he was controlling my life, but that was beside the point. The point was she didn't need to know that.

"Why don't you call him and ask him?" Jazz suggested.

"That'd be good." After a couple of seconds of silence passed, she looked as if she were waiting for me to do something.

"Ya gonna call him?" she asked.

"I need a phone," I pointed out.

Her mouth dropped to the floor. "Your filthy rich and you don't have a cell phone?" she asked as if it were the most astounding thing in the world.

"Um...no?" Vlad didn't want to give me a cell phone. By me nt having a cell phone, he kept me in check. He figured if he gave me a phone then he would be giving me too much freedom (which was the main reason for me being completely blown away by him agreeing to the tutoring sessions before we knew Jazz was the Star). Vlad was much more in love with the ear piece communication devices we used. That way, I could only talk to him.

She still looked shocked, but she pulled out her phone and slid it across the table to me.

I stared at it for a second before I remembered something else. I didn't know our phone number. Did we even have a phone? I knew Vlad had a cell phone so he could deal with all his many business dealings he had going on, but I didn't know that number. I had no use for it.

I smiled sheepishly and made something up. "I don't...actually know our number. I mean, we just moved a couple of weeks ago and I haven't taken much time to learn it."

"Doesn't Vlad not have a phone?" she asked. Wow, she really wanted me to come over tonight, didn't she?

"Yeah, but I never learned it either."

"What?" she asked, looking completely confused. "What if you needed to get in touch with him about something important?"

"Well, I'm usually with him when anything important happens, so there's no need for me to memorize the number."

She sighed angrily and snatched her cell phone off the table.

"Fine. But ask him tonight if you can come over tomorrow," she demanded. "And if he says no...well, he better not say no."

_Trust me, Jazz, _I thought, _you're the key to the plan he's been working on for fifteen years. He's not going to say no.

* * *

_

**Jazz**

I left Danny at the library at five o'clock, just as I did everyday. I glanced back in my rear-view mirror to see him staring at me.

There was something strange about the fact that Danny didn't have a cell phone or know Vlad's number. I mean, that in and of itself would be strange, but there seemed to be something about it that seemed stranger. Vlad was the richest man in the country, and he wouldn't get his son a cell phone?

And what was with the crack about Danny always being with Vlad whenever something important happened? Danny was fourteen years old. Wasn't he allowed some kind of freedom? The more I thought, I realized the only time I'd ever seen Danny outside of school or the library was that Wednesday after the first tutoring session when we went bowling. Danny never went anywhere or talked about going anywhere.

Did Vlad really control his life?

As I pulled into the driveway, I tried to banish those thoughts from my mind and focus on the fact that my little brother had moved back to Amity Park. We were together again. Well, more or less, anyway.

I dashed up the stairs happily. Nothing would bring me down for the next few weeks. Nothing.

Dean was sitting in his customary place in front of the television. I had come to the conclusion that he sat there because he still didn't know what to think about the things going on around the place. He was still too new, and he was still probably grieving the loss of his parents, even though he never mentioned them. I couldn't help but wonder when he would move out, and I couldn't keep myself from feeling sad about him leaving.

Patty was coming down the stairs.

"Hey, Patty," I cheerfully greeted. "Hey, Dean."

I dropped my backpack on the floor and ran over to Patty.

"Hey, Jazz. You seem extra happy today," Patty noted.

"I am beyond happy!" I exclaimed. I had to be careful about be too enthusiastic though. I couldn't let Patty catch onto me. "Did Sam say anything to you?"

Patty smiled and leaned on the wall in the doorway of the kitchen. "Just that you were going to be crazy happy when you got home."

"Well, she's right about that," I agreed. "Hey, I invited a friend over for supper tomorrow. I hope that's alright."

"You know it is."

"Yeah, but I wanted to ask you if you would make lasagna. It's his favorite."

Patty seemed startled for a minute. "Sure, Jazz." She let a few seconds pass by in silence. "You're bringing a boy home?"

I nodded, trying to look completely oblivious to what she was implying. I hoped she wouldn't figure out it was Danny. "That's okay, right?"

A sort of soft smile appeared on Patty's face. "Of course." She turned and went into the kitchen, mumbling something about whether or not she had everything she needed to make lasagna.

I stood there smiling for a minute, but I was interrupted by Dean.

"You're bringing a guy friend home?" he asked.

I turned, still smiling, to look at him. He was staring right at me with a worried expression on his face. The smile dropped off my face when I realized what he must have gotten out of that conversation.

"Oh, no—" I began, glancing back to where Patty had disappeared. I ran over to the couch and sat down. "It's not like that, I promise. But I don't want Patty to know that. I'm trying to freak her out a bit."

"Oh, well, what is it like, then?" he asked, clearly not believing me.

I smiled. "I can't tell you. You'll find out tomorrow."

He sighed and looked back at the television.

I hated for him to feel bad, so I looked around for a something to distract him, and found something on his finger.

"Hey, that's a cool ring." I picked up his right hand and admired the gold, antique looking piece of jewelry. I had seen it before (it was much too obvious not to see) but I hadn't ever said anything about it. Now seemed like a good time to bring it up. "Where'd you get it?"

"Family heirloom," he answered, looking back at me and smiling. "It's one of those grand-dad to dad to me kind of things. It's been passed down to the men in our family for over a hundred years."

"Wow," I uttered. "No wonder it looks so old."

"Yeah, it was the one thing I saved from the fire. When I woke up in my bed and smelled the smoke, it was lying by my head, almost as if it were meant to be mine."

I smiled a delicate smile. "That's amazing."

"Yeah," he agreed, looking at it. "Dad wouldn't have given it to me until I was eighteen if things had been different."

I couldn't say anything to that. I just sat there in silence, waiting for him to snap out of his thoughts and rejoin the conversation. I couldn't blame him for thinking about his family though. I hadn't yet seen him break down over his parent's death.

"Hey, do you want to wear it?" he suddenly asked.

Surprised, I watched as he started to remove the ring from his finger. I hastily put my hand on top of his.

"I don't really think that would be a good idea," I told him. The ring wasn't completely off his finger, but Dean pushed it back down below his knuckle.

"Yeah, that was stupid. Sorry."

"Don't be. It's alright." I stood up and grabbed my backpack from where I'd left it in the floor. "I've got homework to do. See you later, Dean."

I dashed up the stairs, but I didn't go into my room. I hid behind the wall and peeked at Dean. He was twirling the ring around on his ringer, looking at it as if he wanted to hide behind a rock.

I felt sorry for him, but I couldn't bring myself to go back downstairs. He probably wasn't being pushy by other girl's standards (besides, after just having one conversation with the guy, I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind), but I was still wary of relationships. I couldn't help it; my heart had been broken and ripped apart. Healing was hard, even after two years.

Dean looked back at the TV and settled into the couch. I ran off to my room.

I had another dream that night. I was walking through a field of yellow, gray, black, and white flowers. It was a beautiful day. Everything was wonderful; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the wind was blowing just enough to bring out the wonderful smell of the flowers. Everything was cliché, but I didn't care. It was perfect.

And there was Danny. The black flowers were morphing into his hair and suddenly he was standing off to my right. I smiled and walked toward him, but I stopped when the white flowers grew and began to form a shape. Standing right beside Danny was the white-haired ghost from the library. The ghost had his hand on Danny's shoulder and they were both smiling at me.

I took a more tentative step forward. If the ghost were friends with Danny, he was okay. Besides, he had fought off that other ghost at the library. That must mean he was alright. I stopped walking when I was standing right beside Danny.

I noticed the only flowers left were the yellow and gray ones. The scene was still beautiful, and now I had people to share the beauty with.

And suddenly Dean was there. He didn't morph out of any flowers; instead, I suddenly felt someone holding my hand. I gasped and turned to look at him in surprise. He smiled his brilliant smile. And I wasn't worried about a thing.

But it seemed like everything good was about to come to an end.

The yellow and gray flowers began moving. They twisted together, leaving the ground an ugly, brown patch of dust in every direction. The beauty was gone. The yellow formed a messy head of hair and the gray became the shape's jacket. I screamed, and clutched to Dean with one hand and Danny with the other. I closed my eyes and willed my dead boyfriend to leave.

But when Dean removed his hand from my grasp I had to open my eyes. I looked frantically at him, trying to figure out why he would abandon me when I needed him. But he was looking at me like I was a complete stranger. And though he still looked the same, I could tell there was something distinctly different about Dean now. He _was _a stranger. He turned and ran off, disappearing into to the now thick, smoky air.

Johnny walked toward me and cupped his hand under my chin. "Hey, baby."

I jerked my head out of his grasp and screamed.

The next thing I saw was the ceiling in my room. I fumbled around, trying to find my blaring alarm clock, and then just lay there, thinking over the dream.

One thing really bothered me. Why had Dean abandoned me? He had acted as if we had never met.

I pushed the thought aside and started to get ready for school.

* * *

**A/N**: I'm interested to see your thoughts on Dean people. Why did he abandon Jazz? How'd you like the chapter? Review please and share your thoughts!


	16. Chapter 12: Together

**A/N: **It's Christmas Break! I'm sooooo excited! :)))

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Together

* * *

**Danny**

This place wasn't off limits, but I never came down here anyway. I don't think Vlad did either, except to tend to their needs. Vlad hardly associated with them anymore than I did. We kept them heavily medicated. When we finally set them free, they would have a difficult time trying to remember exactly what happened to them.

Who were they? The Points, of course.

We actually had two basements in this house. Well, it was only one basement, but there was a concrete wall blocking off less than a fourth of the entire basement into its own room. There was separate door that led down to this room.

The Points were all lined up down one wall of the room. Each one of them was inside a tube and hooked to dozens of wires, and they all had their eyes closed. Weirdly enough, they looked completely at peace.

And they should look at peace—they would be back home within a couple of weeks. All they had to do was supply the power for the Machine—the Star was the one had to give up her life for Vlad's ultimate power.

Every now and then I liked to walk down here and think about what we went through to get each of the points.

The first Point was a teenage boy. He was older than I, but not by many years. He hadn't been the easiest to catch—not by a long shot. He had been a popular kid. He lived in Florida (on the beach, no less) and had been entertaining some of his visiting friends at different shops and restaurants. I'd had followed him around relentlessly before I finally had a chance to nap him—and then I had failed. Of course, I didn't fail the second time. All I had to do was wait for him to be alone and then he was mine.

The second Point was a twenty-something year old woman. Vlad had told me something one time about all the Points and the Star being young because the younger a person was the more refreshing they were. I hadn't argued. This woman had been a piece of cake. We had identified her and grabbed her out of bed one night. The next Point had been harder to locate, so we ended up staying in Paris longer than we thought we would have to.

My eyes shifted to the middle Point. She was eighteen now. She had been the most difficult to capture. It wasn't that she had put up much of a fight; she had allowed me to take her. She hadn't been surprised that she was being kidnapped, but she had done nothing to stop it from happening. She had talked to me as if I weren't a ghost taking her hostage. She was so strange.

The fourth Point was a teenage boy and the last Point was a man in his twenties. They were both easy catches. The only thing that had taken so much time in getting the Points was locating them. It always took Vlad nearly a week to find the direction the next Point was in—it had taken him two weeks to locate the Star's direction—and once travel time and building a tracker for each person was added into the equation, we had spent two or three months on each Point. We also rested every few weeks to refresh ourselves. Two long years had passed by collecting the Points.

I really couldn't believe the end was so near. Within the next two weeks, Vlad's plan would be done. How had time moved so fast?

I sighed and turned to leave the depressing room. Why bother myself with painful memories when a painful future was still awaiting me?

* * *

**Jazz**

"He said yes."

I almost screamed, but I didn't. Instead, I jumped and turned in my seat to look at the face that belonged to the now-familiar voice.

"Danny!"

He smiled innocently, as if he hadn't been planning on surprising me. Honestly, he had come up behind me like a ghost. I hadn't heard him at all.

"What?" he asked, with that oh-so-innocent smile on his face. I pursed my lips and swallowed a sharp remark. I grabbed his hand and swung him into the seat behind me.

"Sit here," I demanded. I swiveled back around in my seat to talk to him. "What do you mean 'He said yes."?" I asked.

"He said I could come over tonight," Danny clarified. "Can't believe you forgot."

"I didn't forget; you nearly gave me a heart attack and that pushed it from my mind for a moment," I told him. "Seriously, I didn't sleep any last night. I'm so excited, aren't you?"

"Of course," Danny agreed. I was going to quiz him more, but Mrs. Harpy began class. I turned back around in my seat and kept my thoughts to myself.

My thoughts of Danny and Vlad. I was worried about what kind of life Danny had. He seemed happy enough, but Danny having to ask permission from Vlad for anything seemed wrong.

I tried to pacify my thoughts. Setting limits for their kids was what parents did. Parents were supposed to guide a child's decisions, and some parents were more controlling than others. Vlad was just a controlling parent. That was all there was to the situation; there was nothing to worry about.

The day passed by as fast as pudding through a water filter. Every class dragged on an on, and I was about ready to just skip out early with Danny and Sam by the time the final bell rang.

I dashed out to my car, where Tucker, Danny, and Sam were already waiting.

"Hi, guys!" I chirped. I quickly unlocked the car.

"I invited Tucker tonight, too. I figured we might as well make a party out of it," Sam told me as we all four slipped into the car. I smiled at Sam in the backseat.

"Sounds good to me."

I dropped the two of them off at the house with a strict warning for Tucker to keep his mouth shut.

"Oh, come on, you know I can keep a secret," he tried to assure me.

I glanced at Sam and told her, "Keep an eye on him."

As we drove off, Danny shot me a look. "You're really trying to keep Patty out of the know aren't you?"

I smiled slyly. "Mm-hm. I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm bringing home a boyfriend." I rolled my eyes. "She knows me better than that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny asked. He was smirking at me.

"Um..." I drolled, realizing I'd made a slip. I wasn't about to say anything about my last boyfriend. "It's just that I always tell her everything, and I'd never keep something like that from her." That wasn't even a lie; if I ever did get another boyfriend, Patty would be the second person to know—right after Sam.

My mind turned to Dean, but I quickly pushed the image away.

Danny and I had decided that even though our world had been turned upside down yesterday, he still had his grades to worry about. He couldn't afford to miss any days of study. The only reason we weren't studying at home today was because I didn't want Patty seeing Danny. Starting next week, we were going to be studying at home.

Amazingly, I was able to keep my focus while I tutored him. We left a few minutes before five; then I wasn't able to keep my focus.

"I think Patty will be totally excited, don't you? And aren't you excited? Ooh! And she's a great cook; you'll love what we're having tonight. We're almost there!"

When we pulled into the driveway, I jumped out of the car. Danny wasn't so quick. He seemed nervous and fidgety. I leaned back into the car and smiled. "There's nothing to be nervous about."

He shot me a surprised look, then smiled. "Yeah, I know." He stepped out of the car. I walked to the front door, and he followed behind me. Nothing could touch my happiness.

When I opened the door, I saw a familiar sight. Dean was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the television. I could smell the lasagna in the kitchen and the garlic bread in the oven. I smiled a huge smile when Patty walked into the living room from the kitchen. She was anxious to see who this boy was.

She stopped short. "You could've just told me it was Danny, dear." She had been busily drying a glass when she had entered the room, but now her hands were still. She looked dumbfounded.

I ran over to her, leaving Danny standing by the door. I noticed Dean was watching us closely. "But it's not just Danny! That's my brother Danny." I had tried to figure out a witty way to tell her all day long, but I wasn't thinking about wit at the moment. Right now, I was just thinking that Patty needed to know who that boy by the door was.

The glass hit the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces, but Patty didn't look at it. She just looked at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. "B-but that's impossible," she muttered. She was still staring at me. "That's not...How do you know?"

"Danny figured it out," I told her with a smile.

It was only then that she turned her gaze on Danny. She still had the same surprised look on her face. First, her eyes moved to Danny; then she turned her head toward him. I looked at him too. He was just standing by the door with his arms crossed, probably trying not to be embarrassed. He didn't look embarrassed though. He looked like the pieces of a huge puzzle had finally all fit together.

I couldn't blame him for feeling like that. He'd been trying to figure out where he knew the name Patty from ever since I first mentioned her around him. Now, he finally knew. And now, we knew that we had each other again. A puzzle _was _finally complete.

I looked back at Patty. Her face was different now. She was smiling. "Well," she began, "I think I need a hug." Then she ran over to Danny and caught him up in a huge hug.

I smiled for both of them.

"So he's your brother, huh?"

I looked at Dean, who was now standing right behind me. I smirked. "Told you it wasn't like that."

"Yeah..." He drawled, and he touched the ring on his finger again. "What's so special about him being here?" he asked.

"Oh right, I forgot," I exclaimed. "Well, I didn't forget, but...well, I never talk about him." I glanced back at them. They were still hugging.

"Oh, I can't believe you're here!" Patty exclaimed. I was pretty sure my smile was stuck on my face.

I turned back to Dean so I could finish explaining. "He was adopted ten years ago from here and I wasn't, and he figured out yesterday that we were brother and sister. Before that, I couldn't stand to think about him."

Dean had a look of sorrow on his face. "That's sad," he commented.

"Yeah, we've been separated a long time."

"Oh, well, yeah, that's sad," he started, seeming to be correcting himself. "But what I meant was it's sad that you weren't adopted. You had to have been too cute not to adopt." I was stunned by the sudden comment, and for a second, I couldn't move. It still confounded me that I could stand to care for anyone after...well, after two years ago.

We stood there staring at each other for who knows how long before I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Danny. "Patty told me to tell you two to stop flirting." He was smirking.

I blushed and turned to walk upstairs. Before I managed to get too far, I caught a glimpse of Patty's face. She was sweeping up the broken glass, but she was looking at me, and her face was stern.

I bit my lip nervously. I couldn't help but wonder if Patty would ever be happy with me dating ever again or if she just didn't want Dean messing around with my feelings simply because he lived in the same house as me for the moment. Would she be alright with us dating if he didn't live in the same house?

Would I?

I really didn't feel like thinking about that right now.

Because right now, I needed to go upstairs and bring Sam and Tucker down. It was party time; this was no time to be sad or wondering.

On my way upstairs, one random thought hit me.

The thought was about Danny and Patty, and me.

Would Danny hold a grudge against Patty for separating us? And what about me? I hadn't thought about being angry at Patty for years, but now that Danny was a tangible presence in my life, would I? And did Patty feel bad for giving Danny up?

All the thought boiled down to was this: would tonight really feel like nothing had ever gone bad or would the years between Danny and me make us angry at Patty? And would Patty be beating herself up?

Who knew? Who cared? We were together now; that was most important.

* * *

**A/N:** Aww … isn't it sweet? Leave me your comments please! Thank you!


	17. Chapter 13: Home

**A/N: **I'm pretty sure these next few chapters are going to seem boring. I'm very sorry, but the stuff that happens in them is important so please try and pay attention.

**Disclaimer: ** I still don't own DP.

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Chapter Thirteen: Home

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**Jazz**

"What are we having?" Danny was asking as I stomped back downstairs with Sam and Tucker in tow behind me.

We all piled into the kitchen, and Patty brought the lasagna to the table.

"You can't tell?" Patty asked before I had a chance to answer. "Jazz said it was your favorite food." She looked at Danny and smiled.

"Lasagna?" He smiled, seeming to think about something. "You know, I've only had it one time in my whole life."

I frowned. "And it's your favorite food?" Everyone was starting to pile food onto plates.

"What can I say?" Danny shrugged. "It was a special occasion and it was good."

"What kind of special occasion?" I asked while I was dipping lasagna out of the pan. I still wanted to know every possible detail about my lost little brother.

"It was a few years ago, and Vlad had this business deal going on. He took me to it to show off." Danny sat down across the table from me, and he looked up as he finished his story. Patty was sitting in her place next to me. "We went to this fancy restaurant and there was a bunch of meals to choose from, but I'd never heard of them before. So the lady who was hosting the thing told me to try the lasagna."

"And you liked it, I'm guessing?" Patty asked.

Danny smiled. "Yeah, a lot."

"Well, mine's homemade, so I hope it lives up to that restaurant garbage you had," Patty commented. After that, the only noise coming out of the room was the sound of forks against plates.

A couple minutes of silence passed before Danny looked across the table at me. "I won't be able to make it to Monday's tutoring session. Same thing came up as last time."

"What's up?" I asked. I hadn't asked him about it last time, but now I was curious.

"Vlad is always trying to introduce me to the world of business so he wants me to go with him to another meeting with one of his top-notch associates." Danny shrugged like it was no big deal.

"M'kay," I agreed. Honestly, the dog-eat-dog world of business didn't appeal to me very much at all. I was very happy with my dream of being a psychologist.

The rest of the night passed by amazingly. Before we had gotten home, Sam and Tucker had walked to the store and bought a cake. After all, Sam had said she was going to make a party out of the night.

Danny stayed for a couple of hours. A little after seven, he mentioned having to leave.

"So soon?" I asked. He just shrugged and walked to the door.

"Do you mind taking me home?" he asked.

This was a first. When we had first started the tutoring sessions, I had said something about taking him home, but he had told me his dad would pick him up. When we had gone bowling a couple of weeks ago, he had told me to drop him off at the library. He had said something about his dad meeting him there because it was too long a drive for me to make. I hadn't argued then. I had been anxious to get away from him as fast as possible.

But now, things were different. Now he was my brother. Now I wanted to know where he lived. And he was offering to let me see, and I wasn't going to turn the offer down.

"Sure," I agreed happily. I grabbed my keys, and Danny began walking toward the door.

"Hey, Danny should take some of the cake home," Sam commented.

"Yeah," I agreed. "We won't eat the rest of it."

"No thanks. Neither one of us has a sweet tooth."

"You can still take some—" Sam started to say. But Patty interrupted her.

"If the boy doesn't want cake, he doesn't have to take any."

That quieted the discussion, and a couple of seconds later, I was backing out of the driveway.

"It's on the other side of town," Danny told me.

"Okay," I responded. "Did you like tonight? Was it too pushy?" The night being pushy wasn't something I had thought about until after we had pulled into the driveway. The thought had suddenly come over me that Danny might not like being put on the spot all of a sudden.

"No, no, it was great. No one was pushy." I smiled, relieved that he had been comfortable.

We talked about trivial things for the few minutes it took to make the trip. He directed me to pull into one of the more wealthy neighborhoods around town. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I still couldn't believe that my _brother _was filthy rich. It seemed unreal that one of the wealthiest men in the world had adopted him ten years ago.

As we drove through the dark neighborhood, a thought popped back into my mind that had been bugging me. At dinner, Danny had called Vlad by his name. I guess it wasn't actually strange—Vlad wasn't really his dad after all—but the thing that made it strange was this: I had never heard Danny call Vlad by his name before he figured out we were brother and sister; he had always referred to his dad—not Vlad.

It was probably silly of me to pick up on something like that, but it was also strange. I was merely a second away from saying something to Danny about it, but he said something first.

"This one. On the right."

I pulled into the driveway, but stopped. One reason was because the house standing in front of me was huge, and it had startled me. The main reason was because there was an eloquently designed, enormous gate in front of me, blocking the rest of the drive.

I couldn't express my amazement. I think pulling up to this gate finally made me realize that my brother had _actually _been adopted by a billionaire.

"Hey, did you get brought to school in a limo on your first day?" I suddenly asked.

Danny was already sliding out of the car, but he stopped when he heard my question. He looked at me curiously. "Yeah, why?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering." Finally there was an answer to the limo question. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner.

Danny slid out of the car and stepped up to a keypad at the gate, but I wasn't paying much attention to him until the gate slid open and he got back into the car. I drove forward slowly. The driveway wasn't terribly long, but it wasn't terribly short either.

"This is...totally amazing Danny," I muttered. The drive was lined with trees. Even though it was dusk, I could tell this yard must be breathtakingly beautiful.

"Yeah, I guess its something," Danny halfheartedly agreed. I shot a glance at him. He was staring straight ahead with pursed lips.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just distracted is all." I didn't believe him but decided to let it go for now.

I pulled up as far as I could. There was a bend that wound around the side of the house that I assumed led to the garage, but I didn't pull around there.

I was hoping Danny would invite me in, but it didn't seem like he was going to. I put my hand on his leg, and he looked at me.

"I'm really glad I used that picture in my Spanish project," I told him. He smiled.

"I just wanna know one thing," he started to say. "I thought you didn't like talking about me. Why in the world did you put me in your project?"

I laughed. "Because of you," I answered. He looked confused. "I avoided people named Danny because they brought back painful memories, but Sam decided to pressure me into tutoring you. She was convinced I needed to get over my aversion of the name. So since I started spending so much time with you, my brother was on my mind more often. I started getting kind of reminiscent I guess."

Danny just sat there for a minute, soaking the explanation in. His mouth lifted in a sort of half-smile. "I'm glad I wasn't completely zoned out yesterday in Spanish." It was my turn to quirk an eyebrow at him. He elaborated, "I wasn't listening to anyone's project. I had been planning on looking at Patty's picture so I could put that mystery to rest, but I was too zoned out to catch her name in time. Before I zoned back out, though, you said my name."

"Wow," I commented.

A beat of silence passed.

"Well, I'd better get inside," Danny said. He was half-way out the door when he suddenly leaned back inside. "Hey, you wanna come over Saturday?"

I perked up. "Yeah, sure!" I replied.

"I'd ask you to come in tonight, but Vlad's real picky about school nights," he explained.

"I understand." There it was again; Danny called Vlad by his name. I couldn't hep but wonder if he even knew he was doing it.

"Bye, Jazz, and thanks for bringing me home." With that, and the shut of the car door, I was alone. As I watched Danny open the front door to his home, and as I turned around to drive out of the driveway, my mind was working hard. I wanted to know everything about Danny's life, including why he had suddenly started calling Vlad by his name, instead of calling him dad.

And now that I thought about it, I couldn't hep but wonder whether Danny had told Vlad about him finding his long lost sister. After all, I could understand Vlad being strict about visitors on school nights, but I was his sister. Couldn't I have come in for two minutes?

I tried to banish these thoughts from my mind as I drove home. I tried to tell myself that I was simply trying to find a way to dislike the man who had adopted my baby brother and taken him from me so many years ago. I tried to tell myself that I was making things up, and I was being paranoid.

I tried to tell myself these things, but I didn't listen.

* * *

**Danny**

Vlad had instructed me before school Thursday to invite Jazz to come to the house on Saturday. I didn't know why Vlad wanted Jazz to come over, but I knew it wasn't because the Machine was ready. No, we still had much work to do before the Machine would be ready.

I searched for Vlad, and found him (of course) in the lab.

"You're home," he noted. I was kneeling, but I was sure he was checking his watch. "Right on time, of course. What did she say?"

"She accepted the invitation, Master."

He was ecstatic. "Wonderful! Tell her we'll have dinner." I was still kneeling in front of him, waiting for him to continue. There was no way the only reason Vlad wanted Jazz over here was to serve dinner and make small talk. "Now, I have something planned for Saturday, but I'll tell you about it later. Leave."

I quickly stood and turned in one fluid motion. In less than half a second, I was up the stairs and on the way to my room.

Friday was a normal day. Well, it was as normal as it could be considering I had just found the sister I had never thought I would see again. Tucker kept bugging me about having a (and I quote) "dude's-totally-rocking-night-out-on-the-town-to-drool-over-hot-chicks" night. I kept coming up with excuses not to go, using the fact Jazz was coming over Saturday as one.

Jazz was due to arrive around two and we were going to have an early supper at about five. Sometime between two and five, Vlad and I would have to put on some of our best acting yet.

Right now, we were hard at work in the training room. I phased out of the way as he charged toward me, and then I spun around and fired two green ecto-blasts at him. I was sure under normal circumstances he would have dodged out of the way; however, under these circumstances, he let the blasts hit him. He fell to the floor, but didn't stay down long. He growled and shot towards me, sending a barrage of ecto-blasts before him. I held my arms up in front of me, and then brought them down to form a shield in front of me.

The blasts were deflected, and we continued our practice. In less than three hours, we would be performing this act in front of an audience.

When the doorbell rang, Vlad excused me to answer it.

"Jazz, hey!" I greeted when I opened the door a minute later. She was wide eyed and happy.

"Hey, Danny," she replied. I stepped out of the way so she could come in, and I figured she would have that amazed look on her face for most of her visit. "Is this your living room?" she asked.

I was really trying to downplay the fact that I was rich (which really didn't matter to me so much because, in all actuality, I wasn't), and I had a feeling that Jazz was trying really hard not to be so impressed. I couldn't blame her for being so amazed though; the house had to be a little overwhelming.

"Yeah, it is," I answered.

I was about to suggest that we take a look around the house when I heard Vlad.

"Danny?" he asked, feigning ignorance to the fact that someone was at the door. He was also using my nickname, instead of calling me Daniel, like he usually did. I heard footsteps coming from upstairs. He must have phased through the floors. "Is she here?"

"Yes," I called up to him. Not two second later, he was making his way down the stairs. He was dressed in his best suit (when wasn't he?) and showed no sign that he and I had just been fighting in the basement. Of course, neither did I.

Vlad often reminded me that when we were around other people, I was supposed to talk more. I had never asked why, but since I had been to school, I'd found out: people talked to other people more often and more rudely than Vlad allowed me to talk to him, and he didn't want to draw any kind of suspicion from anyone.

As he reached the bottom step of the winding staircase, he smiled. He walked over to us and stuck out his hand. "Hello, Jasmine," he greeted. "It's so nice to finally meet you. How are you?"

She was probably more stunned by how Vlad acted than the house. But she was good at controlling her amazement with Vlad. Her eyes were just a little bit too wide to be normal, but other than that, she looked fine. She smiled back at him and shook his hand.

"Good. How are you?" she asked.

"Fine, thank-you." Vlad stepped back. I could see the hunger in his eyes. He was probably mulling over the though of kidnapping her today and saving us time in the future. But he wouldn't kidnap her today. Even he wasn't that cruel; he'd told me that. He said that kidnapping the others didn't bother him because they would eventually be taken back to their families. But the Star was different. The Star was going to die, and he wanted to give Jazz as much time as possible with her friends and family.

"Danny has told me so much about you," Vlad continued. _Not the most important thing_, I thought. But I knew there was a huge chance that Vlad already knew that she was my sister.

"Really?" she asked. She shot me a look. I figured the look was supposed to remind me that she didn't really know anything about Vlad. I smiled tightly.

"I was going to show Jazz around at bit," I told Vlad. It felt utterly wrong to talk to him that way, but I was trying to keep an air of normalcy around. I didn't look Vlad in the eye, of course.

"Sounds like a splendid idea. Dinner will be ready by five." Vlad turned and left, leaving me and Jazz alone. A couple of seconds passed before either of us moved, and even longer for us to say anything.

Jazz turned and gave me a bewildered look.

"Yeah, I know. He kind of demands an air of formality."

"No kidding," Jazz muttered, but not in a distasteful way. She still looked bewildered. She uttered a soft laugh. "I can't believe I just met a billionaire."

"Oh, so that's why you decided to come over," I joked, looking away like I really didn't care. "You just wanted to shake hands with a guy whose touched a billion dollars."

Her face turned to that of horror. "NO!" she exclaimed.

I cracked a smile. "I'm kidding, Jazz. I know this is probably overwhelming. Why don't we take that tour?"

For the next while, I showed Jazz all over the house. She wanted to see _everything_, of course, just like she wanted to know everything about my life. When we were walking past the basement door, she stopped and asked, "What's in there?"

"Oh, it's the basement," I told her, attempting to blow it off as unimportant. "We've only been here a month; there's nothing special down there and it's really messy; Vlad doesn't like me messing around down there. He's very particular about things being kept in their proper place."

At that, she looked around the foyer area. The place was spotless. "I see. What—do you have like a maid or something to clean the place for you?"

I smiled sheepishly at that. "Actually, yeah," I answered. We kept on walking. We were still on the first floor.

"Do you have an elevator?" she asked.

"Nah. Vlad didn't want one. He's really into classic looks and he figured an elevator would just take away from it." Actually, there was no need for one, considering we could just fly through the floors and ceilings to get anywhere we wanted to go.

When we got to the staircase, Jazz commented on it forever. "This is so beautiful!" and "I've only seen staircases like this in movies!" We jogged up the stairs and hung a right. In just a few seconds, the acting would start.

I led her to the last door on the right of the huge hallway. "My room," I told her, holding out a hand. The room looked like it hadn't been lived in, which was pretty much the truth. I barely spent any time in my room. Of course, with the homework I was now getting from school, I spent more time in this room than I ever had before, but I still didn't spend that much time here. I was getting most of my homework done with Jazz right after school.

"Danny..." Jazz trailed off. She stepped in the room. The room was huge, but frighteningly neat. There was a bed, a dresser, a couch, and a stand with a television on it. A door on the right side of the room led to a bathroom and a door on the left led to a closet. However, what Jazz must be astonished at was the fact that there was not a single thing out of place. At Jazz's house, I had glanced into everyone's bedrooms—mostly because Jazz was dragging me to them—and I gotten a good feel for what a normal teenage bedroom looked like.

Both Sam and Dean's bedrooms had been horribly messy. Clothes and almost all belongings had been scattered across the floor. Jazz's bedroom looked better and more controlled, but there had still been a hint of a mess about it. The way my bedroom looked, I very well could have been stepping into it for the first time myself.

She turned to look at me. "Well, you're much neater than I figured."

I had barely shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing, when Jazz screamed.

* * *

**A/N: **Again, bear with me! Let me hear your thoughts!


	18. Intermission III: Jazz

**A/N: **Surprise! You're still not finding out what made Jazz scream.

**Disclaimer: I don't own this show.

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**

Intermission III: Jazz

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_It's April 3, exactly six months after the accident that claimed John's life and only two months away from the end of my freshmen year. It's not I actually think about John much anymore (I try to keep his memory suppressed so I could keep control of my emotions) but sometimes, the thought of him still manages to surface. _

I titled my head back, laughing at Sam, who was carefully detailing to Patty why she should be allowed to quit school now. She was crazy—there was no way around it. I shuffled up the stairs to my room and shut the door to get some peace and quiet. I had to finish my math homework early if I were going to catch my favorite show on television.

I was halfway into the second problem when a strange feeling passed over me. There was no way to explain the felling. I lifted my head, searching the room to see if Patty or Sam had slipped in without my noticing. There was no one there. I turned my attention back to my math.

A couple of seconds later, the same feeling passed over me. This time I stood up and turned completely around and—

—and froze.

There he was. Same gray jacket, same messy blond hair, same pale face, same fingerless gloves, same black pants, same combat boots. But there were minute differences. He was wearing a skull necklace and he was glowing. And his eyes. His perfect blue eyes...were green. They were horrendous.

I did the only thing I could think to do after seeing my dead boyfriend suddenly show up in my room.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I feel to the ground in a heap, staring at John. What was this? Some kind of sick joke? He looked startled; then he just...disappeared. He didn't go anywhere; he just vanished.

The door opened seconds later. Patty knelt down to me. "Jazz, what's the matter?"

I didn't allow my shock to turn into tears. That would require an explanation on my part—something I wasn't necessarily ready to give.

"Nothing," I answered, breathless. I was already coming to conclusions in my mind. I was merely hallucinating. I was already heartbroken; I suppose completely insanity was the next step. "I...thought I saw something."

Sam was standing in the doorway. She smirked. "What, a spider?"

I shook my head yes, allowing a small smile. "Yeah, that was probably it."

But Sam wasn't finished. She continued, jokingly, "Or was Jazz seeing ghosts?"

I sucked in an audible gasp at the mention of ghosts. I had never liked to think much about ghosts, namely because my parents had deserted me and Danny so they could research them, but what if that had been a ghost? John's ghost?

Patty was shaking her head and turning around to leave the room.

I was really hoping I was kidding myself with the random appearance of John.

When they left the room, I felt an odd urge to pull them back in for safety. I didn't want to be alone.

I didn't even make it back to my math book when a hand came down over my mouth. I screamed, to no avail. A voice—an eerily familiar voice—caressed my ear. "Please don't scream this time."

I stopped my mumbled screams, and after a second, he let go. I swirled around to meet him face on. My eyes were wide, and my breath was coming in shallow gasps. Quickly, I shut my eyes and said, "You're not real. You're just a figment of my imagination. You'll go away if I just think it." I opened my eyes. He was just standing there with his arms crossed.

"Still here," he told me.

The tears were coming now. "I don't understand."

"Shh..." He held a gloved finger up to my lips. I pulled away. He sighed angrily. "I'm still me, Jazz."

"No your not," I croaked. "Your dead; your a...ghost." It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to say the word.

He grimaced. "Yeah, but thanks to me, you're not," he reminded me.

"Well, thanks, now leave," I demanded, pointing to the door.

He laughed. "I didn't come to get your thanks, Jazz. I've spent the last six months preparing for this moment." He paused and a loving look filled his eyes. "The moment I could see you again and be with you again."

"You want to..." I stuttered, "You still wanna be my boyfriend?" I asked, astonished.

He smiled, thinking I was offering. "Of course." He stepped closer. I took two steps back. He paused. "Why are you pushing me away?"

"Because you're a ghost," I stated simply. "Now get out of here, John!"

He growled menacingly. "I can't, Jazz. I can't explain why, but I'm more attracted to you now more than ever before. I need you, Jazz. I can't tell you how much I need you. And you will be mine again."

He vanished, just like before, and I was alone.

I didn't see him for two days. I had almost convinced myself that I had imagined the entire thing. But he wasn't through yet. He showed up again that night, pleading with me to take him back. I refused. And I continued to refuse him, day after day after day. I didn't say a word about it to Sam or Patty. They would think I'm crazy.

Two weeks after the day John first showed up was the last time I saw him. I was sitting on my bed with my eyes closed, hoping he would leave me alone today, but, of course, I wasn't that lucky.

I felt a hand on my arm. "Sam or Patty leave," I said, my eyes still closed. The hand didn't move; I knew it wouldn't. I opened an eye and there he was, looking at me intently, lovingly. "Go away!" I yelled.

"Would you shut up?" he asked, glancing at the door, with a slightly scared expression on his face. Patty was downstairs. Sam was at Tucker's house.

"What?" I asked. While he was distracted, I rolled off the side of the bed he wasn't on. Now there would be some thing between us—not that it would do much good. A few days after the first day he showed up, he had walked through some solid object. I had screamed; he had clamped his hand over my mouth.

He looked back at me, pointing a finger at me. "You're lucky, you know that?"

I raised an eyebrow. This was different. He usually started these meetings off by declaring his undying love for me. Then I would yell and cry and he would eventually leave. I was really starting to lose my mind. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

He didn't answer the question. "I'm just the opposite, Jazz." He paused, seeming to think something over. "You wanna know what the other ghosts call me? Johnny 13. They say I'm bad luck. They say everywhere I go, a shadow of bad luck seems to follow me. I wrecked a motorcycle. I caused you pain. I couldn't find a way out of the ghost zone for months. And now I can't convince you come back with me before—"

I just stared at him, trying to figure out where his mind was. He looked like he was in pain. He gripped his hair and gritted his teeth. Then he cooled off and stared at me with a cold expression. "I still love you; I don't care what you feel. And I will never forget about you." He went to stand next to the outside wall of my bedroom. He glanced over his shoulder at me, a determined look passing over his face. Then he threw a glance at my bedroom door. With that last look, he phased threw the wall, and I never saw him again.

I was still standing, staring at the wall when someone knocked on my door a couple minutes later. "Yeah," I granted.

The door opened and I turned to look at Patty. She was smiling, holding a plate of chocolate chip cookies. "Want one? There fresh." I pursed my lips, then smiled. Hopefully, that was the last I would see of John—er, Johnny. Whatever. I never wanted to see him again.

"Thanks, Patty." I took a cookie. Patty made the best.

"Are you okay? You've seemed on edge for the past couple weeks," she commented. I was thoughtfully chewing my cookie as I glanced at the spot where Johnny had disappeared. When I looked back at Patty, I saw she had followed my line of vision. She turned back to me with an inquisitive look.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I told her truthfully.

And it was the truth. If Johnny were truly gone, I would be alright.

That night, I got the first night of sweet sleep in a long while.

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**A/N: **There, now there's only one more random intermission that has to pop up somewhere! Review Please!


	19. Chapter 14: Delay

**A/N: **Thanks for 50 reviews! It means a lot to know I have loyal readers out there!

Finally, what made Jazz scream? :) Also, school starts Wednesday. Bleh. Not excited.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Chapter Fourteen: Delay

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**Jazz**

Wouldn't any person scream when they saw a vampire? Well, normal people would, and I was definitely normal enough to scream when I saw the vampire floating down the hall. Of course, in moments of confusion, one tends to think strange things. The thought at the forefront of my mind at the moment was this: _I didn't think vampires could float. Turn into bats, maybe, but not float._

_Wait, that's probably just a ghost._

That thought calmed me down more than it should have, but not an enormous amount.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked.

I pointed behind him. He whipped his head around and quickly took in the situation before turning back to me. He opened a door, pushed me into the room, and followed me in, shutting the door behind us.

"Will this actually help us?" I asked, looking around at the various clothes hanging on racks around the semi-large room. The room must have been his closet.

"No, but if we're lucky, the ghost didn't see us and—AHHHH!"

I screamed as the ghost reached into the closet and pulled Danny out. Not thinking, I opened the door, my eyes wide, and frantically searched for Danny. I didn't see him or the ghost anywhere. I took a tentative step out of the closet, then another.

"You're a real smart one," a voice behind me said.

I twisted around, but saw no one behind me. Suddenly, the vampire ghost materialized in front of me, holding Danny by the arm. I stood in stunned silence, frantically trying to think of a way out of the situation.

"Oh, please," the ghost muttered. He turned, threw Danny back in the closet, and closed the door. "Is that really all it took to get you out in the open?"

He lunged at me, and I jumped back, but he managed to scrape my arm. I was too terrified to realize how much the hit actually hurt. I was busy looking between the ghost and the door to the room, gauging the distance between me and the door, and trying to calculate how long it would take me to get there.

There was just one problem with that plan; the ghost was between me and the door. There would be no way for me to make the run to the door. So I backed up, trying to get as far as I could from the deranged ghost as possible. He shadowed me, seeming to enjoy prolonging the inevitable—my demise. Would the ghost kill me? Or would he capture me? A better question—why would he want to do either? What had I ever done—?

I let out a small shriek when my back unexpectedly hit the wall. I had nowhere else to go. A tear slipped out of my eye in desperation and a sob caught in my throat.

"You're a pretty little girl," the ghost caressed. I had never expected that coming over to Danny's house for the first time would be my last.

"Danny!" I called, suddenly remembering him. What had happened to him? Was he still in the closet? Had the ghost hurt him? Is that why he hadn't come back out yet?

"Now be a good little girl and—"

"Leave her alone!"

I almost screamed in delight at the sound of another voice; any other voice right now was a blessing. But there was something familiar about this voice. I recognized it.

I didn't realize my eyes were closed until I realized the vampire ghost hadn't grabbed me. I opened one eye, then the other. I gasped at the sight before me. The white-haired ghost from the library was standing between the vampire ghost and me.

"Get out of here," the white-haired ghost demanded. He took a threatening step toward the vampire ghost. The vampire ghost merely raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Do you really think that's going to work?"

"Fine; we'll do it the hard way." The white-haired ghost lunged forward, knocking the vampire ghost to the ground. I was frozen to the spot, unable to take advantage of the occupied ghosts and make a break for it.

The white-haired ghost leaped back up and charged his fist with the same kind of green energy I had seen him use in the library. The vampire ghost made a pink shield, effectively stopping the blast. He charged his fist with the same kind of energy, only his blast was pink. The white-haired ghost wasn't fast enough to avoid it and was sent flying into Danny's dresser.

The vampire ghost turned his attention to me. "Now, where were we?"

I cringed back into the wall, wishing I could turn invisible like ghosts could. I could practically feel the ghost's hand on my shoulder when he was suddenly pulled backward. The white-haired ghost had grabbed the vampire ghost by his cape and was swinging him around in circles. He let go and sent the ghost flying into the wall. The white-haired ghost rushed toward his fallen enemy and picked him up with one fist. He reeled the other fist back.

"We're finishing this today," he said before charging his fist with the green energy once more and aiming right at the vampire ghost's face. I blinked and the vampire ghost was suddenly nowhere to be seen. The still-present ghost shot the blast anyway, but it just bounced off the wall.

"No!" he exclaimed. He hit the wall repeatedly. "No, no, no, no, no!"

Then he just stood there, staring at the wall. I was still too scared to move.

After a couple of moments of silence, the ghost looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked.

My mouth opened, but no words came out. I closed my mouth and cleared my throat, intent on trying again. "As okay as I can be at the moment." The ghost cracked a smile. "Thanks for saving me," I told him. "Again."

He floated closer to me. "Don't mention it," he commented.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked, curiously.

He looked toward the wall where the other ghost had disappeared. "I've been tracking that ghost, trying to capture it." He shot me a look. "I've followed him for months, but every time I get to where I've almost got him, he gets away." He paused for a moment. "That ghost that was in the library is one of his workers."

"Who is he?" I asked.

"His name is Plasmius, and he's extremely evil."

"So does that mean you're good?" I asked. I was really curious about this ghost. I wasn't very keen on spending time with ghosts, but this one seemed different than the first one I'd run into two years ago. He didn't creep me out or scare as much; maybe it was because he was trying to be good. Whatever the reasons, he intrigued me.

The ghost laughed. "You could say that, I guess." A beat of silence passed, then his eyes lit up with an idea. "You could help me!"

My eyes went wide. "What?"

"Yeah!" He seemed excited. "Most people shy away from ghosts; they say they're evil and whatnot, but you know that I'm different." I bit my lip, unsure of where he was going with this train of thought. "If I fly around trying to save people, most people will label me as an evil ghost trying to do harm, but if you spread my name around and tell a few people that I'm not like that, it'll be even easier to save people."

"So you want me to do damage control before the damage happens?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled big. "Yeah, something like that."

"One problem," I stated, holding up a finger. "I don't know your name."

"Phantom," he told me, holding out a gloved hand.

"I'm Jazz," I introduced, shaking his hand.

He looked back at the wall where Plasmius had disappeared, then smiled and floated through the roof. I stared at the ceiling for a long minute before I gasped. "Danny!"

I ran to Danny's closet and swung the door open. Danny was lying at the far end of the closet with his eyes shut. I gasped again and quickly scampered to his side. I lifted his head off the floor. "Danny, can you hear me?"

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Jazz?"

"Danny, what happened?" I asked. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, wincing.

"I don't know. That ghost threw me in here, and I think I hit something. That's all I remember," he explained.

I looked at the wall, quickly coming to a conclusion. "You hit your head on the wall; are you okay?"

He was still rubbing the back of his head, but he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"C'mon." I helped him stand up, and we walked out of the closet together. He sat down on his bed, and I sat down in a nearby chair. It was then that I realized something important. I glanced at the door. "Shouldn't Vlad have heard the noise?" I asked. He must've heard all the banging around going on. Why hadn't he come to investigate?

Danny uttered a short laugh. "Since this house is so big, he probably didn't hear a thing."

I nodded and sighed. "Well, why don't we head downstairs?" I suggested. I was ready to get out of this room for the time being. Ghosts were creepy; even the ones trying to be good were creepy. I smiled a small smile, secretly hoping I'd get to see Phantom again. I wanted to study him and figure out why he wanted to be good. I wanted to understand the reasoning behind his heroic deeds.

There was only one thing I didn't want: I didn't want to see Phantom again because I was in the middle of another life-or-death situation. If it were up to me, I would happily _never_ get myself into another life-or-death situation again.

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**Danny**

Everything went well Saturday. Vlad and I pulled the plan off perfectly, and Jazz was full of even more questions than before. I still couldn't understand why Vlad wanted Jazz to trust Phantom—it didn't make any sense to me, but I didn't argue. I obeyed Master, whatever he said.

Everything seemed to be panning out perfectly. We were on schedule for getting the Machine done, and this upcoming Saturday was the day: I would get Jazz to the house and Vlad would get her in the Machine and we would get the points in their places and everything would be over. It was that simple.

Nothing could have prepared me for Monday morning.

"What do you mean _delayed_?" Vlad screamed into the phone. I was standing in the foyer, about to leave for school, when I heard this outburst. I glanced back, to where Vlad was pacing back and forth in the living room. Quickly, I looked away, not wanting to get myself in trouble. After a couple more minutes of talking, Vlad slapped the phone shut.

"Daniel!" I turned to face him, hitting my knees. He was fuming mad; I wasn't going to dare say a word. Finally, after a minute or so, he said, "The last remaining piece of the Machine is going to be delayed until Saturday. Installation will take at least five days. We'll postpone our plans until next Saturday. Dismissed."

I leaped up and changed into Phantom. Then I flew through the roof, not daring to look back at Vlad for fear he would explode. I was torn: on one hand, now I would get to spend two more weeks with Jazz; on the other hand, the end was now two weeks away. The pain was going to be drawn out that much longer. I was not looking forward to the pain.

I got an idea on my way to school when I saw Jazz driving. Vlad wanted Phantom to gain Jazz's trust, right? I could do that. I turned invisible and floated down to her level. I waited until she was stopped at a stop sign before reappearing. I didn't figure popping up out of nowhere would be a good thing while she was driving.

Apparently, it didn't prove to be a good thing while she was stopped either.

Right as I appeared outside her window, she looked at the window, her eyes widened, and she let her foot off the brake. She slammed her foot back down quickly and looked around the area, probably to see whether or not there was an audience. There wasn't, thankfully. She rolled the window down.

"You really shouldn't do that," was the first thing out of her mouth. I laughed.

"It was too tempting to pass up," I replied.

Jazz turned to look at Sam, but pointed at me. "See, Sam, I told you."

I turned my attention to Sam's face. She was starring wide-eyed at me. "Where did you come from?" she asked.

I quickly filled in the gaps in my mind: Jazz must have told Sam about seeing me, and Sam must not have believed her. I grinned. "I was just flying around a bit and saw Jazz and figured I'd spook her," I said casually, shrugging.

Sam's mouth moved back and forth for a second before it finally started working. "So…you're like, really a ghost?" she asked.

I leaned against the car. "Yeah."

Her eyes flicked to Jazz—who was looking triumphant now that Sam finally believed her—and smiled. Then she looked back at me. "Cool."

I probably would have laughed if it wouldn't have been inappropriate. Instead, I turned my attention back to Jazz. "So, are you doing your job?" I asked.

"Not yet," she admitted. "But I'll probably say something about you to a few of my friends at school."

"What job?" Sam asked.

"She's supposed to be telling people that I'm not going to hurt anybody," I answered for Jazz. "It'll make it easier to save people; they won't run away."

Jazz took control, saying, "He saved me at Danny's house the other day. I would've told you about it, but you wouldn't have believed me." Sam didn't look apologetic in the least. She merely crossed her arms and looked away.

I glanced around again, still wanting to make sure we weren't going to be interrupted. Unfortunately, there was a car a little ways off, driving this direction. "I got to go," I told the two girls. I lifted off the ground. "Bye."

From there, we both made our way to school; I found a secluded spot where I could change back to human and walked through the front doors just as the first warning bell sounded. Jazz and Sam were just walking in the door too.

"Hey, Danny," Jazz greeted. She walked up right beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. We walked together, talking about anything that popped into our minds.

I treasured the normalcy; it wouldn't be like this in two weeks.

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**A/N: **I treasure reviews! Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 15: What It Seems

**A/N: **Short but important chappie! Thanks for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the show.

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Chapter Fifteen: What It Seems

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**Jazz**

Nothing would ever bring me down from this high. Absolutely everything in my life was going perfect. Dean and I were getting closer and closer, even though I was still careful about spending too much time with him. School was going great. There was no drama flying around between Sam, Patty and me. Danny and I were inseparable, and his grades were slowly but surely improving.

Sam and I decided to start researching anything we could about ghosts. I was still interested in figuring out why Phantom was so intent on being a good ghost. Sam was simply amazed that ghosts could actually exist and was excited to learn as much as she could about them.

So after Danny left Monday afternoon, Sam and I headed off to the library to check out a few books. We spent all Monday and Tuesday night scanning the books, looking for useful information. It was eight o'clock Tuesday night when Sam flipped one book closed and threw it across the room. "Wait a sec," she muttered. I watched her curiously as she scrambled to her feet and retrieved the book. She looked at it closely for a minute before turning back to me.

"What?" I asked. Sam wordlessly found her way around the mess of books and handed the book-in-question to me. I scanned the front of it, looking for something out of place. It didn't take me long to find what it was.

I read the front of the book: _Ghosts and Their Instincts, _written by Jack and Maddie Fenton. I gulped. It was the first tangible proof that my parents were still alive and doing their work. I always tried not to think about them very much, but what I had told Danny about our parents was true: thinking about them didn't bother me as much as it had to think about Danny.

The reason was simple. I didn't want to see my parents again. They had abandoned Danny and me to hunt ghosts. They loved ghosts more than they loved us. So I didn't hope to see them again. However, I had wanted to see my brother again. He had been a victim of our parents' poor decision. I had hoped to see him again. And the hope was what hurt. I didn't hope to see Mom and Dad so it didn't hurt; I had hoped to see Danny again so it had hurt.

I pursed my lips and flipped to the back of the first page. It had been published just three years before. Well...good for them. At least they were making something of their lives.

I handed the book back to Sam. "Did you find anything useful?"

"I dunno; isn't anything useful at this point?"

"You know what I mean; the title of the book is _Ghosts and Their Instincts_. There's got to be something in it about ghosts being evil. Is there anything about why a ghost would try and be good?" I asked.

Sam shrugged. "I scanned the chapters; nothing stood out."

I sighed. Even though we were gaining tons of knowledge about ghosts, we were no closer to figuring out why Phantom would try to be good. There was simply no explanation.

We kept going.

Wednesday afternoon, right after Danny left from tutoring, Sam and I started our researching again, but we weren't ten minutes into it when Tucker burst into the room.

"What's that ghost you told me about look like again?" I wasn't surprised Tucker knew about Phantom; Sam had probably gushed everything to Tucker.

Even though he had directed the question to Sam, I answered. "White hair. Black jumpsuit. Green—"

"What about the other one? He kinda looked like a vampire, right?" Tucker interrupted.

I glanced at Sam, who shrugged. Then I directed my answer at Tucker. "Yeah, why?"

Tucker gritted his teeth. "And you said they were enemies. That they fight one another?"

I nodded, still confused. Sam jumped in. "Tucker, what are you getting at? You know all this, so why are asking us?"

"I just wanted to make sure I had the right ghosts before I bring your world crashing down around your feet," Tucker said nonchalantly. At this, Sam and I looked at one another.

Tucker grabbed my desk chair and sat down in it backwards, facing us. "See…" he drawled. "I was walking over here like I always do when I heard people talking. As I am a naturally curious person, I had to investigate."

He stood up and sat down in the floor next to Sam. But he was still talking to both of us. "I glanced toward the alley where the noise came from, but I didn't run into the alley or anything. I'm not as stupid as most people believe. I just snuck up to the edge of it and poked my head around. And there they were: Phantom and Plamsius."

"Plasmius," I corrected.

"Whatever," Tucker said, shrugging it off. "The point is those two were just standing there talking. They weren't fighting or arguing or anything. Just talking."

I furrowed my eyebrows. That didn't make sense. "Maybe you saw it wrong. They were probably just badgering each other before they got down to the fighting."

Tucker shook his head adamantly. "No way; I stood there for a couple of minutes listening and waiting for them to start fighting like you two have told me about." Tucker reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a couple of taps on his touch-screen, he passed the phone to me. "I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I videoed it."

Sam moved behind me to get a look at the screen. I pressed play. The voices were hard to make out because of the traffic passing behind Tucker on the street.

"—plan is going...I don't think she...yes, Mas...Saturday...I don't see why...good job...never suspects...the Star will...another plan...spy...take no respons..."

The words kept playing out like that. There was nothing to make of them. But I watched the video closely. It was Phantom and Plasmius alright. Plasmius was standing over Phantom, looking like an authority figure. His hand were behind his back and his feet were spread far apart. His mouth was moving constantly. Phantom's eyes were averted from Plasmius's face, and every now and then his lips would move. It was a frightening video.

But it wasn't solid evidence that the two were working together. After all, Phantom could easily be playing Plasmius; he could simply be trying to lure Plasmius into a monologue so it would be easier to take him down. And besides, the words were completely useless. The traffic passing on the street made it impossible to make anything out of the conversation. And a harmless conversation could easily be interpreted as an incriminating one by simply taking it out of context. And there was no way to make out the context of this conversation.

The video ended, and I handed the phone back to Tucker. He had an expectant look on his face; he was ready to hear me tell him he was right and I was wrong. But that wasn't my intention.

"You can't tell a thing from that video, Tucker," Sam said before I had a chance to open my mouth. I glanced back at her, figuring I would find her sold out to the fact that Phantom was good. Instead, I saw uncertainty in Sam's eyes. She flashed a look at me, then looked back at Tucker. It wasn't hard to determine that the only reason she was still defending Phantom was because she knew I was going to. She didn't fully believe he was good, but she was going to stick up for me. I smiled, grateful of that fact.

"You couldn't make out their conversation. There's nothing incriminating about it," I continued. Tucker's look of expectancy turned to one of astonishment.

"What?" he asked. He pointed back to the phone. "That was a three minute video; why would they stand there talking that long if they're supposed to be enemies?"

I glanced at the ground. "I don't know, Tucker, but Phantom's the real thing; I know it."

He growled. "I'm trying to keep you from getting hurt! He's playing you!"

"You haven't even met him!" I yelled at him. I didn't know why I was defending Phantom so vehemently. I didn't really know him that much, but I had promised to convince people that he was a good guy looking to help people. I couldn't afford Tucker messing that plan up.

Tucker stood up and grabbed hold of the door handle. He was almost through the door when he turned back. In a very uncharacteristically serious manner, he left us with these words: "People aren't always what they seem."

He shut the door behind him. Sam looked at me, and we both grasped the meaning of his words. He had said them time and time again. Sam and Tucker had known each other since first grade. Back then, she hadn't been goth or scary-looking. But when she did turn goth, people started shying away from her. No one wanted anything to do with her. When I met her three years ago, Tucker was her only friend. I still remember a conversation I had with Tucker right after I met Sam.

"Is she a nice girl?" I asked eleven year old Tucker. Even though I had only known Tucker as long as I'd known Sam (which was about a month), I felt better talking to Tucker than Sam. Sam was still reeling from her parents' deaths, and I hadn't had a chance to get to know her yet.

"Of course; why wouldn't she be?" Tucker asked. Earlier in the conversation, he had been more focused on directing cars through his Lego city. But now he turned his full attention on me. I already knew him well enough to know that he was never serious. So his sudden focus had startled me.

I stuttered. "Y-you know. She looks...mean," I had finished, for lack of a better word.

Tucker had laughed. "You mean just because she's dressed in black and looks a little different means she's not a nice girl? I bet you would never guess she's a vegetarian that who stops by the animal shelter once a week to make sure all the animals are doing fine or that she's already started to figure out how to get a better lunch menu at the high school when we eventually get there." He paused and looked back at his city. "People aren't always what they seem."

A couple minutes of silence went by as Tucker turned his attention back to moving the cars through the streets of the city. I watched him for a while, but couldn't stay quiet much longer. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I wasn't trying to be mean."

He sighed. "All her other friends abandoned her because she decided to go goth or whatever. It's kind of annoying. I defend her choices whenever she's not around to beat me up for doing so."

I winced, but he laughed. "She also thinks girls are tougher than boys."

I laughed a little at that too. "I'll be her friend," I decided. "I can't believe her friends would do that to her. Kinda makes me think they weren't her friends."

Tucker didn't said anything to that so I looked up. He was staring straight at me. "Yeah well, people aren't always what they seem."

I snapped back to the present. Tucker was usually right about those things. I bit my lip, hoping he wasn't right about it this time.

Later that night, Danny called me.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked happily. I was trying to do two things at once. Even though I tried to do my homework while Danny was doing his in the afternoon, I usually ended up needing to help him with something. Sometimes I didn't get mine done. So now, thanks to the fact that Sam and I were busy researching ghosts, I was just now sitting down to finish my homework. But I would always make time to talk to the little brother I hadn't seen in forever.

"Not much, but I was thinking something," he answered.

"M'kay. What?" I asked, glancing down at my Pre-Calculus notes to make sure I was still doing the problems right.

"You and me haven't really hung out. I was thinking we could spend Saturday together—just you and me. No homework or Spanish or Patty or Vlad. Just us two. What d'ya think?"

I was beyond excited. "Sure; that sounds like a great idea." I racked my brain as fast as I could. I didn't think I had anything going on Saturday, but for some reason, I thought I did. I shook my head, and looked back at my math homework. "So what do you wanna do?" I asked.

"I was kind of thinking you could show me around the city. I still don't know it that well."

"Sounds like a plan," I replied. "I'll figure out the best places to go before Saturday."

"Cool. See ya tomorrow."

"See ya."

We hung up and I set my cell phone down beside me. I was five minutes back into my math homework before I realized why Saturday was on my mind. In Tucker's video, either Phantom or Plasmius had said the word Saturday. I shook the weird feeling off and turned my attention back to my homework. So what if they had said something about it? If Plasmius decided to attack me Saturday, Phantom would protect Danny and me.

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**A/N:** Reminder: Phantom and Plasmius are not planning to get Jazz in the Star Machine _this _Saturday. That's next Saturday. Just wanted to make sure that was clear. :) Thanks for reading and please review!


	21. Chapter 16: Fraud

**A/N: **I'm back with yet another chapter! Hope you enjoy! Thanks to my readers and reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the show.

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Chapter Sixteen: Fraud

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**Danny**

I still didn't understand Vlad's plan. I thought I had. I thought it had been simple: find the star (who happened to be my sister, which was the only complicated part I had seen), capture her, hook her up to the Machine, receive ultimate power. Instead, Vlad was wanting Phantom to gain Jazz's trust. I couldn't figure out why.

Especially now that he had told me the next part of the plan, the part that we would be doing Saturday.

He was confusing me. There was no other way to say it. Of course, I had to follow orders. I didn't question what he told me, and if I thought something didn't make sense, I couldn't bring that to his attention. Vlad was Master; he knew best. Everything must make sense in his mind. That thought had to be enough for me.

But I couldn't figure out what this part of the plan was about, or why it mattered for the ultimate goal: the goal of Vlad getting his power. Nothing was adding up.

Why bother getting Jazz to trust to Phantom if…if we were just going to destroy that hope?

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**Jazz**

Saturday morning dawned, and no one could have touched my happiness. I was getting to spend the entire day with my little brother. What could top that?

Humming quietly to myself, I slipped down the stairs and into the kitchen. I was due to pick Danny up in forty-five minutes. That gave me time to grab a quick bite. However, Dean was already in the kitchen. His presence always proved to be interesting, and my breakfast could easily turn into more than a quick bite.

"Hey," he mumbled. At least, I think that's what he said; his mumble was hard to make out considering his mouth was full.

I laughed. "I can wait to talk until after you're finished with that bite."

I poured cereal and milk in my bowl while I waited for him to be able to talk.

"Okay," he began, leaning on the table. "I can talk now." He smiled big. I couldn't help the smile; it was just a natural reaction to Dean.

"You're up early," he noted.

I nodded. I usually liked to sleep in until at least nine on Saturdays. But today was a special day; Danny and I were going to spend every second together.

"Yeah, me and Danny are spending the whole day together."

"Cool." A few minutes passed while we both ate. "Are you spending tomorrow with him too?" Dean asked.

I wrinkled my eyebrow. That was a strange question. "No...why?"

He smiled big. "Why don't we hang out?"

That brought me up short. "Um...I guess."

He sighed. "Jazz, I don't want to pressure you into anything, but I want to try and help you realize that not every guy is going to leave you high and dry. And the chances of the exact same thing happening...well, that's really unlikely." He took a moment to let me think over what he'd said. Then he continued: "I like you, Jazz. You've got to know that. And I think if you start again with someone who really likes you, you won't go wrong."

I was sitting stone still. I hated when people brought Johnny up, and I hated when people viewed me as a wounded victim. Dean meant well, but that didn't give me any reason to talk about Johnny.

"I need to go," I stated. I stood up and set my bowl in the sink. There were no tears. There were never tears, just loathing—loathing that John had died and loathing that someone had the guts to bring it up. Patty and Sam never brought it up. But ever since I had told Dean about John, he hadn't let up. He wasn't going to give up in trying to get me to go out with him.

And even though that was sort of sweet…it was still annoying.

"Danny will be waiting. I've got to go get him." I practically ran through the kitchen door. I could hear Dean behind me, yelling my name. But I didn't care at the moment. All I wanted to do now was get out of the house and get to Danny. That was the most important thing to do.

Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling up Danny's house. The gate was already standing open so there was no hold up on making my way to the front of the house. A couple of seconds before I could get out of the car, Danny came running around the corner.

I stepped out of the car anyway. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hey. You ready?" he asked.

"Course I am," I replied, sliding back into the car. "I wouldn't be here if I weren't."

I had planned the day as best I could. We started by going to see a movie at the new movie theater. I didn't think Danny's eyes could get any wider by the time the movie ended.

"That was the coolest thing ever," he said over and over again. I laughed and agreed.

"I guess it was a pretty good movie."

He nodded, but his eyes weren't on me. He was too busy staring at…well, at everything. It was like he had never seen a movie theater before. I had almost decided not to come here, but I was glad that I had. Maybe he hadn't ever seen a movie—however highly unlikely that was. Either way, seeing his reaction was awesome.

After that, we drove around town. I showed him all the hang out spots and the places where big events happened. I was about to suggest eating at the park, when he brought it up.

"Hey, you mind if we swing by the park?" he asked. "I've heard some people talking about it at school, and I haven't had a chance to go by there yet."

I shot him a look. "That was just about where I was going to go. How'd you know?"

He looked surprised. "Oh. Well, you hadn't mentioned it. I didn't know we were going."

I laughed, and took the next right. We were close to the park. "There's this little hometown café in the middle of the park. I figured we could stop there for lunch."

His face lit up. "Sounds perfect."

The drive didn't take long, and the walk to the café was a short one. We ordered and had our food five minutes later. I picked up my hamburger and looked curiously at Danny.

"Why did you want to come to the park?" I asked.

He carefully bit into his hotdog before answering. "No reason really. I was just curious about it. Like I said, I've heard people talking about it and I just wanted to check it out."

I nodded and continued eating. Right as I was finishing, Danny stood up.

"Which way's the bathroom?"

I turned and pointed directly behind us. If it weren't for the huge bush, it would be possible to see the bathrooms from here. "It's the building on the other side of that bush," I told him. Danny thanked me and walked off.

While I waited for him, I looked around the park. It was a perfect representation of how I was feeling at this moment. Everything was beautiful. The leaves on the trees were colorful and everything seemed to be bursting with life.

It was too bad that winter would come soon and everything would start to die.

I banished that thought from my mind. Where had it come from? Right now, I could only focus on the positive. The positive was that there was life in everything at the moment—including the fact that me and Danny were together again, after such a long time apart. The negative was that soon the life would diminish. Of course, mine and Danny's relationship wouldn't diminish, but everything else would.

When I heard the rustling of the bush behind me, I didn't think anything about it. It was probably a squirrel. But when I heard voices, I froze. It wasn't the fact that there were people behind me that scared me—even though the park was eerily empty today—it was the fact that I recognized the voices.

I turned slowly, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. There they were—Phantom and Plasmius—standing right around the edge of the bush. I could just barely see them from where I was sitting. I bit my lip to keep from screaming and thought better from running away. That would get their attention for sure. So I stayed as quiet as possible, but I couldn't peel my eyes off of them.

They were whispering just loud enough that I could hear them.

"What do you think?" Plasmius asked Phantom. All I could think was that Phantom needed to hurry and beat Plasmius up and get him out of here.

Phantom sighed and crossed his arms. He glanced up at Plasmius. "She'll be easy. I can get her fast. She has no idea what's really going on."

Plasmius cracked a toothy grin, revealing his fangs. "Good. We need to get her soon, before she starts suspecting you, though."

Phantom chuckled a bit. There was something decisively evil about the laugh that gave me shivers. "Don't worry about that. She would jump off a cliff if I told her I would catch her."

Plasmius frowned. "But that's not how we want to kill the Star, Phantom. Be careful."

"I know, I know," Phantom stated, waving his hand in the air. I was still waiting for Phantom to blast Plasmius away, but the longer they talked, the more I started feeling like that wasn't going to happen. "I'm just saying that Jazz is an easy target. We couldn't have hand-picked a better Star."

I almost went into shock when I heard my name. And I couldn't help but realize that Phantom looked different. He looked cocky and confident. He looked scary and evil. He looked like he could crush me if he wanted to.

He looked like the ghost he was.

I turned away from them and looked back toward the café, but I still listened to them.

"You're still keeping an eye on her right? Everywhere she goes?" Plasmius asked. It took everything in me to not to run away. But if I moved now, they would know I was onto them. I could feel Phantom's eyes on my back.

"Always. Wherever she goes, there I am." His voice sent shivers down my arms, and the fact that he was watching me everywhere I went scared me like crazy. I couldn't believe Tucker was right. Phantom and Plasmius were working together. Phantom had been tricking me the entire time.

"Good. I'm almost ready for her. Next Saturday is the day," I heard Plasmius say.

I waited a few seconds, but I didn't hear anything else. I still wasn't going to turn back around; they may still be there. I didn't want to chance—

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I screamed, jumped up and away from the hand. I jumped up and around and took in Danny's startled face.

"Is…something wrong?" he asked.

I was breathing hard and erratically, and the look on Danny's face said he thought there was something seriously wrong with me.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He cautiously took me by my shoulders. He looked me straight in the eyes. I didn't answer him. I was still shocked from the discovery that Phantom wasn't who he said he was. Danny shook me. "Jazz…you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Um…nothing. I just…let's finish eating. Then we can finish our day," I suggested. I wasn't going to end mine and Danny's day just because I was frightened by a couple of ghosts. Besides, I felt safer with someone with me…even if that someone was the same person Plasmius had thrown in the closet last time.

Danny looked confused, but he sat back down. He picked up a chip and took a bite. Then he shook his head. "No, Jazz. We can't just finish our day. Something's got you scared. What happened?"

I breathed in a shaky breath. Then I closed my eyes and sighed. Danny wouldn't let this go.

"Yeah, something happened while you were gone." I picked at the remains of my hamburger, even though I didn't feel much like eating anymore. "You remember me telling you about how I thought that Phantom kid could be a good ghost? That I thought he might be fighting the nature of what ghosts are supposed to be?"

Danny nodded slowly, thoughtfully, but it was still clear he had no idea where I was going with my ramblings.

"Well, I just saw him and that other ghost—Plasmius. They…they were talking about me," I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I could still hear Plasmius saying that this Saturday was going to be the day. The day for what? I shut my eyes. I wasn't going to leave the house Saturday. "I don't know," I answered, my eyes still shut. "I don't know...but I was wrong. Phantom isn't a good ghost. He's been tricking me. The only reason he was being nice to me was to trick me into trusting him so he could…so he could…oh, what's he going to do?" The word _kill _echoed in my mind. Plasmius had said kill.

Danny's eyes were wide. He stood up and walked around the table. He sat down beside me and put his arm around me. "I don't know what I can do…" He trailed off. I looked at him. He looked like he was thinking hard about something, then his eyes lit up.

"What?" I asked. I was near tears. This wasn't how this day was supposed to turn out—those ghosts had ruined everything.

Danny smiled. "Remember when you asked me if Vlad knew anything about Phantom?" he asked.

I couldn't see where he was going with this, but I nodded. "Yeah; you told me you didn't know if he did."

"Well, you got me curious so I asked him," Danny told me. "Turns out he does. He said something about not wanting to talk about it to me, but he may talk to you about it. He might be able to tell you what Phantom may do. Want me to ask him?"

Suddenly feeling much better, I grinned. "That would amazing! If I could get Vlad's advice on what Phantom can do, I'd feel better. I could even defend myself!"

Danny smiled, but his face quickly turned thoughtful. "You know, Phantom could just be putting Plasmius on. He might be pretending to be Plasmius's friend, instead of pretending to be his enemy."

"I feel like an idiot. Those two must have staged those battles…both of them—just so I would trust Phantom."

Danny didn't say anything else. We finished our lunch and finished our day. Even though I was feeling absolutely horrible, the thought of getting Vlad's advice lifted my spirits. And I couldn't help but think what Tucker would do as soon as I told him he was right about Phantom.

But more than that, I set myself firmly against the thought of ever trusting Phantom. And I felt stupid that I had ever trusted a ghost at all. Hadn't I learned my lesson with Johnny?

I went to sleep that night with one thing on my mind: Phantom's face next Saturday once he realized that his and Plasmius's plan was going up in smoke.

* * *

**A/N: **Review please! Thanks!


	22. Chapter 17: Actress

**A/N: **Next chapter!

I had a reviewer ask why Danny doesn't have any bruises if he's beaten everyday. Good question. In the original version, I described Danny as wearing a long-sleeved hoodie. I suppose I forgot to include it in the story. Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter 17: Actress

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**Danny**

Phantom wasn't supposed to know that Jazz had overheard him and Plasmius talking. For that reason, I was floating to the side of Jazz's window, waiting for a good moment to get her attention. Vlad had told me to come out here. He wanted me to act like everything was normal and that the afternoon in the park yesterday hadn't happened. Since Vlad still needed my help with the Machine, Sunday night was the first chance I'd had to talk to Jazz.

So here I was, waiting for Sam to leave Jazz's room. Of course, the only thing Jazz had to talk about was Phantom.

"What if they decide that Saturday is too far away? What if they decide to get me tomorrow?" Jazz asked Sam.

"You can't spend your time worrying about this, Jazz. When are you talking to Vlad?"

Jazz sighed. "Tuesday after school. We'll go over there instead of coming here after school. You wanna come with me?"

Even though I couldn't see them, I pictured Sam shrugging her shoulders. "Sure, I guess. Why not?"

Jazz groaned. "But what if Phantom and Plasmius decide that they need me before Tuesday? What if they get to me before I can get to Vlad?"

The conversation went on like this for ten minutes. I was sick and tired of hearing the worry in Jazz's voice. I had tried and tried to figure out what good it did to get Jazz all worked up about Saturday, but I couldn't figure the plan out. When we had captured the Points, we hadn't done anything similar to this. We had simply found the Point, waited until they were an easy target, and snatched them away in the middle of the night so we wouldn't be suspicious.

Even though Jazz was the Star, I didn't see what good it did to get her worried over this. The Points hadn't had to worry. Why should Jazz? Why couldn't we just take her captive Friday night, inject her with whatever it was we gave the Points to keep them unconscious, and get this entire thing over with Saturday?

At some point during my thoughts, Jazz's room had turned silent. I turned invisible and looked through the window to see that Sam was gone. Thankfully, I turned intangible and phased through her room. Though I was pretty sure I would scar her for life, I knew there was only one way to turn invisible and not have her scream loud enough to alert Vlad—who was across town.

I came around behind her, slipped my hand around her mouth, and turned visible. She squealed as much as she could, but I quickly said something. "It's me," I told her. "Don't worry."

After a second, she stopped squirming and I was able to let go of her. I was still scared she was going to run screaming. If I were her, I would have.

She turned around with frightened eyes, but as soon as she saw me, the look faded into something that looked like relief. She closed her eyes, breathed out hard, and uttered something between a cry and a laugh.

"It's only you," she sighed. She was sitting on the floor so she leaned against her bed to have something to prop herself on. "I thought you were someone else."

I gave her a confused look. "Who else could randomly appear in your room without opening the door or the window?" I asked.

She opened her eyes and gave me a sharp look. "You'd be surprised," was her answer.

I decided I wasn't going to push the subject—actually, I decided, based on the look in her eyes at the moment, I wasn't going to touch that subject with a forty foot pole.

The look of stress on her face instantly cleared. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked. She stood up and sat down on her bed. I shrugged.

"Not much," I answered. I was still waiting for her to accuse me of lying to her and tricking her. Why was she acting so cool about everything? "I was just flying around and I figured I could stop by and make sure you were still spreading my good name around."

"Don't worry; I am." She paused and a curious look spread across her face. "How'd you know where I live?"

I smiled and leaned against her desk, arms folded. "Oh, I do my research," I replied. I watched her face carefully and saw a hint of terror flash across for it half a second, but it vanished as quickly as it had come.

"Well, I'm glad my protector knows what he's doing," she told me. I was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door. Instantly, I turned invisible. Jazz jumped at my sudden disappearance, but she recovered quickly.

"Come in," she announced.

Dean walked into her room. His eyes were scouring every inch of the room.

"Hey Dean," Jazz greeted. She stood up. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," he told her. He looked around the room once more, his eyes passing over me. He focused his attention back on Jazz. "Were you talking to someone?"

Jazz furrowed her eyebrows. "No; there's no one in here. I might have been muttering about my English project." Jazz gestured to the contents strewn about her bedroom floor. Dean followed her hand, but he looked as if he were doubting that Jazz was telling the truth. He glanced back at her.

"Whatever," he muttered. He cast a final look around the room before heading out the door.

"Dean, wait," Jazz pleaded. She reached out to take his arm, but she suddenly shot a look directly at me. Dean followed her gaze.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing; nevermind," she told him. "I'll talk to you later."

With that, she let him walk out the door. Once he was down the hall, she closed the door and leveled a gaze at me. I slowly faded back into the view.

I let loose a low whistle. "Well, that didn't look good. Are you two fighting?"

"Shut up; he's not my boyfriend," she shot back. She sat back down on her bed and stared at the wall.

I raised an eyebrow and allowed a small smile to creep onto my face. "I never said the word boyfriend."

She sighed. "Look, you are not the person I'm going to be talking to about my relationship problems so if you got what you came for, leave." She pointed toward the window.

I gave her a helpless shrug. "Hey, I just want to make sure you haven't found your way into anymore shenanigans that have to do with evil ghosts."

She looked straight into my eyes. "Don't worry; I haven't. Now get out of here; I need alone time."

I followed her orders and a few seconds later I was flying back toward home.

I had to admit: Jazz was a really good actress.

* * *

**Jazz**

It had to be impossible for my knees to shake any harder. I was near the point of tears as I made my way to my bedroom door. I had to get to Sam's room. I had to tell her what had happened.

I stopped cold once I opened the door. Dean was standing right outside the door with a stern look on his face. I quickly sucked in a deep breath and tried to gather my emotions. "What are you doing here?"

He grimaced. "Do you really have to ask?" He stepped in my room and looked around again. "Who was he and where did he go?"

"Dean..." I couldn't hold my tears in any longer. I was near hysteria. I collapsed. If Dean hadn't have been there to catch me, I would have fallen on the ground. "There wasn't anyone—"

"Stop lying to me, Jazz," Dean insisted. He hoisted me up and sat me down on my bed. "What is going on?"

I gasped and caught my breath. I held it for a couple of seconds and tried to calm down. The tears stopped coming finally and I opened my mouth, but I what I said wasn't what I was thinking I was going to say.

"His name was John," I started. I looked into Dean's eyes. He was confused. I looked away. "That old boyfriend you were asking about a couple weeks back: his name was John. We had a motorcycle wreck and he died, but he saved me. And then he came back and tried to talk me into being his girlfriend again. And I just couldn't do it because he was a ghost and so I've always been afraid of ghosts because of him and now there's this ghost named Phantom and he was pretending to be my friend but he's really not and he was in the room just a few seconds ago and he's going to do something horrible to me Saturday and I don't know what it is."

I only stopped because I was out of breath but once I stopped talking, I realized what I had just said. I looked desperately at Dean.

His eyes were wide. "Um...okay?"

That finally did it. I broke down laughing. There was nothing else to do but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked.

"Your face," I told him, then realized how that must have sounded, and tried to take it back. "No...I wasn't trying to be mean. You just looked really confused, and—"

"Jazz," he interrupted. "It's okay; I get it."

I smiled a little. "Thanks."

"No problem." A few seconds of silence passed. "What did you say about Saturday?" he asked.

I sighed and put a hand on my head. "I don't know what's going on. All I know is that Phantom and Plasmius are going to do something bad to me Saturday, but they're trying to get me to trust Phantom so it'll be easier to get the job done."

"Well, me and Sam will just have to stay by your side all week. That way you'll never be alone. And we'll have to keep you ultra-safe Saturday, too." My eyes lit up. It meant a lot to me that Dean was really willing to protect me from Phantom. He appeared to be thinking something over. "Hey...we could go over to Danny's house Saturday. It'd probably make you feel better to be near your brother, wouldn't you think?"

I was suddenly excited. "Yeah! That'd be great! And I haven't told you this yet, but Vlad is into ghost-stuff, and he knows about Phantom. It would make me feel even better to be in the same house as him." Dean smiled, liking the idea. "I'm supposed to talk to him about Phantom Tuesday anyway. I could ask him if he would mind me coming over Saturday."

"Sounds like a plan."

I stood up and started picking up my pillow and a blanket. A second later, something Dean had just said hit me. I twirled around and looked at him.

"Did you say 'we'?" I asked.

One corner of Dean's lips raised up. "Yeah. I mean..." He stood up and walked over to me. He took my hand in his. "If you'll have me."

I pursed my lips, but only because I was trying not to blush. "I...don't guess I'd mind if you came with me."

"Cool," was his response.

I nodded. Then I pushed my way around him, toward my door. He turned and followed me out the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Sam's room," I responded. I turned and eyed him. "If Phantom decides he's going to try and get me before Saturday then I'm at least going to have a witness at night."

With that, I stomped toward Sam's room.

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**A/N: **Please give me your thoughts!


	23. Chapter 18: Phantom's History

**A/N: **Thanks for reading and reviewing! Here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Chapter Eighteen: Phantom's History

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**Jazz**

I stepped in Danny's house with Sam right behind me and Danny in front of me. She wasn't as amazed as I had been; after-all, her parent's had been wealthy and had lived in a house almost as grand as Danny's, but Sam just couldn't receive any of her parents' money until she turned eighteen.

I continued following Danny into the house; Vlad stepped out to meet us just a moment later. He was all smiles.

"Good afternoon, all," Vlad greeted. His eyes turned instantly to me. "Let's not waste any time, shall we?" He turned and began walking back the direction he'd come. Vlad seemed to be in a hurry. I glanced at Danny, and he nodded. I nodded back and followed Vlad down a long hallway into a comfy-looking room. I took a seat on the plush couch, and he sat in the nearest chair.

"So, Danny tells me you're having a bit of ghost trouble," Vlad began.

Feeling like I was talking to a therapist about my mental problems, I nodded. "Yeah. This ghost–"

"Phantom," Vlad supplied, a knowing look shining on his face.

"Yeah. Phantom," I said. "He showed up a few weeks ago. He saved a bunch of people at the library and then saved me from another ghost here at your house. I didn't understand why he was doing that though because I knew ghosts were supposed to be evil." I took a deep breath. "Then I overheard him talking to the same ghost he'd saved me from here. They were talking about how they've been watching me and how they're going to do something bad to me this Saturday. I guess I'm just upset that I let myself be tricked like that, and I was wondering if you could tell me about Phantom."

I looked Vlad in the eye, anticipating his response. He sighed heavily. Then he stood up, paced to a table across the room, and poured him a cup of tea. He brought me a cup then sat back down.

"Jasmine, what you have is a typical case of what Phantom does—he tricks people."

"He does?" I asked. I hadn't even thought that Phantom might actually have done this more than once.

"Yes; I've been trying to catch him for years." I didn't say anything. Vlad sounded like he was about launch into some story, and I didn't want to interrupt his reverie.

"I've known Phantom for ten years," Vlad began. "The first time I ever saw him was a month after I adopted Daniel." I raised my eyebrows when I heard that statement, and I had to wonder once again whether Vlad knew I was Danny's sister. "I had never been a die-hard ghost fanatic, but I knew the basics. I knew they were supposed to be evil." I nodded, sipping on my tea absently. He looked me right in the face.

"But that didn't seem to be the case with Phantom. The first time I ever saw him, he saved Daniel from what would have been a terrible fall. We were in a skyscraper, standing on a balcony, and Danny wandered too close to the railing. Before I could get to him, he started to fall, but Phantom was there, and he caught him."

My eyes were wide, thinking of what could've happened to Danny, but I didn't dwell on those thoughts too long. I didn't want to miss a second of Vlad's story.

"I was extremely surprised, but I thanked the ghost. He smiled and flew off. A couple of weeks later, I witnessed him fighting off a ghost to keep someone else safe. I wasn't able to contain my curiosity so I approached the ghost and before our conversation ended, he had convinced me he was a good ghost, dedicated to the protection of innocent people."

"But he's not...is he?" I asked, fearing the answer.

Vlad shook his head no. "He asked for my help. He wanted me to help spread his good name around." My eyes narrowed at the familiar words. "I agreed, of course, because I wanted to help anyone who was going to keep us safe. So for the next few months, I began rallying people to accept Phantom. And people listened to me; after all, I was rich and powerful and if I supported Phantom, why shouldn't they?

"The facade went even further," Vlad continued. "Phantom talked about how much he despised spending time in the ghost zone because all the other ghosts there hated him. Because of that, he told me about how he lived in this world. He wandered around, with nowhere to stay. I, attempting to be kind and courteous, offered to let him use my home as a headquarters of sort. He could come and go as he pleased and spend as much time as necessary there."

I was beginning to not like the direction this story was taking; I couldn't believe Vlad had let Phantom stay in his home while there was a little child there. But I tried to control my emotions; after all, Phantom must have had Vlad convinced that he was the best ghost in the world.

Just like he had had me convinced.

"Months went by and everything was running smoothly. Then one day, as I was doing work in my office, I heard a cry from upstairs, where Danny had been napping." I closed my eyes, willing the next part of the story to have never happened—even though I didn't know what it was yet. "I sprinted upstairs, and as I burst into Daniel's room, I saw Phantom had a hold of Danny's arm, and he had his hand raised, ready to strike at young Danny."

Even though I knew for a fact that Danny was alright, tears still welled up in my eyes at the thought of him being in danger.

"When Phantom heard the door open, he turned around and dropped Danny back in his bed. His face took on a look of disgust and he asked what I thought I was doing. I was staring wide-eyed at him and couldn't help but ask him the same thing." Vlad paused and pursed his lips. I looked at him. "His response chills me to the bone this day. He said, 'Danny is prime material to be used in the ghost zone.'"

My eyebrows furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

Vlad shook his head. "I don't know, and I'd rather never find out."

I huffed. "Why are you still in the same town as Phantom if he's trying to get Danny?"

Vlad held up his finger. "There's more to the story, Jasmine. You see, after the attempt on Danny's life—there's a scar on his right arm because of the tight grip Phantom had—I was paranoid. I moved away and went into hiding for a couple of years. But I eventually realized that raising Danny like that could not be acceptable. So I decided to begin studying ghosts. I studied as much as I could and eventually found my way into hunting ghosts.

"I began tracking Phantom; I wanted to capture him and make him pay for what he had done to Danny and for the lies he had told me. It wasn't entirely too hard to find Phantom, and I have followed him from city to city, trying to capture him for years now. He does to others what he did to me, and I usually try to stop someone from falling into his traps before it's too late. It's lucky you had a connection with me. I didn't know Phantom was working on you. He's tricky, and I haven't been able to nab him yet.

"Of course, if I could capture Phantom's mentor, Plasmius, it would be even better. Plasmius aids Phantom in his lies by staging fights with him. If only..."

I stared at Vlad as he trailed off, amazed at the story...amazed that he had consistently put Danny in danger for so many years now.

"So even though Phantom is out to get Danny, you're allowing Danny to be close to Phantom while you try and catch him?" I asked.

Vlad shook his head. "I suppose it is sort of a twisted logic, but I'm not entirely unaware of that fact, Jasmine. You see, until we moved here, I had kept Danny extremely close. I would never allow him out of my sight; I even home-schooled him. I was overly-cautious in protecting him.

"But when we moved here, I realized that one day I would have to let Danny grow up a little bit. So I decided to enroll him in school, but I set strict limitations for him. I wasn't even too keen on letting you tutor him, but he was struggling so much in school, I realized something had to be done. I'm sure you have noticed the strictness with which I treat Danny."

I nodded absently, allowing that information to sink in. Everything made sense now: why Danny was always having to ask Vlad before he even made a miniscule move, why there were limits on the time we could spend together, why he was always with Vlad, why Danny didn't have a cell phone. Everything was slowly coming together. But I had another question.

"Why didn't Danny just tell me any of this? When I asked him if you knew anything about Phantom, he just said you might."

"Well, I like to keep most of the details away from Danny. You see, as far as I can tell, he's all but forgotten the incident when he was four years old—he looks at the scar as a sort-of birthmark, I suppose. I'd rather not bring it up," Vlad admitted. "And Danny never questions why we move around so much. All he knows is that I enjoy researching ghosts. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring it up."

"Of course not, Mr. Masters," I replied. I stood to leave, but then remembered Dean's suggestion. "Do you mind if me and a friend of mine come over Saturday? I'd feel safer in the house of someone who knows what to do when Phantom decides to nab me."

Vlad grinned wide. "I would enjoy your presence, Jasmine. But don't tell Danny; surprise him. It will be easier to not tell him you're coming over than to try to explain why you are." I nodded in response.

Vlad and I stepped out of the room, headed toward the main foyer area of the house.

Saturday was the day, and I was going to be ready.

* * *

**Danny**

As soon as Jazz and Vlad had walked off down the hall, Sam and I had sat down in the living room. Unlike Jazz, Sam didn't seem overly-impressed with the house. I liked the fact that she could overlook something like that—not that I blamed Jazz for being occupied with it, but I had had the expectation that Sam would be awestruck too, and when she wasn't, the surprise was slightly refreshing.

She couldn't avoid the topic forever, though.

"So you actually live here?" she asked, looking around at the fancily-furnished living room.

I nodded, and followed Sam's eyes around the room. "Yeah, I guess."

"I used to live in a house this big," Sam commented.

I snapped my eyes back to Sam. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, my parents were filthy rich—not as rich as Vlad Masters, but they were still well-off."

I parted my lips to say something, but something told me that I shouldn't try to approach this topic with her. Jazz had never told me anything about why Sam was in the foster home, but considering she had referred to her parents in past-tense, I assumed her parents must no longer be around.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be, huh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh. If only she knew... "Yeah, seriously. Most people think it's a dream come true, but not really."

"Let me guess...you could live out of your room, couldn't you?"

"Actually no; I don't have a refrigerator in there." We both laughed at that. "I'm a neat-freak, though," I told her, remembering Jazz's reaction to seeing my perfectly clean room. It wasn't that I was _really _a neat-freak. The reason my room was so neat was because I didn't have anything to mess my room up with—oh, and Vlad would kill me if I messed it up anyway. "There's not a thing out of place; I think Jazz was more surprised at that than the enormity of the house."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "I would never have pegged you for a neat-freak. It just doesn't seem to fit. You seem to be more of the creative guy who uses his room as a place to relax and let things pile up."

I laughed. "You obviously don't know me as well as you think you do."

We went back and forth like that for half-an-hour, waiting on Jazz and Vlad to finish up. What was it about Sam that made her easy to talk to? She had been that way from the very beginning. When I hadn't known how to span the distance between me and people who hadn't lived with Vlad their entire lives, she had figured out how to make me talk. She was just a forceful person.

We stood up when we heard footsteps down the hall. I sucked in a relieved breath that Vlad hadn't decided to kidnap Jazz.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Sam asked.

"It was good," Jazz replied. She glanced at me, then averted her eyes to Sam. What was that about? There was no way Vlad had told her I was Phantom; how would that make sense in the long-run? Then she looked up at Vlad. "Everything makes sense now."

I was beyond curious to figure out what lies Vlad had come up with to make Jazz think she understood everything now.

"C'mon, Sam, we need to get home," Jazz said. She stepped in front of me and paused, then hugged me tight. "See ya, tomorrow, Danny." Sam and Jazz left, leaving me and Vlad standing there. I was still staring at the door, staring after the odd-Jazz when Vlad spoke.

"It's so easy to tell a convincing lie," he muttered to me. "Oh, how I love irony," Vlad stated.

As soon as I heard the tap of shoes against the floor, I turned my head and stared at his retreating figure.

What did Vlad have up his sleeve that I didn't know about? It was seriously beginning to kill me.

Oh well.

Saturday was the day, and I was going to be ready.

* * *

**A/N**: Saturday's the day! Whoop! But will Saturday be next chapter...or not? Check back and see but in the mean time, tell me what you love and tell me what you hate!


	24. Chapter 19: Final Reflection

**A/N: **Okay, now it's time for that really, really boring part before everything culminates into something huge!

Seriously, I couldn't just skip to Saturday...how much fun would that be after I've drug this out for so many chapters already? Honestly though, there's not anything left to drag out. Hopefully, you'll all love it!

**Disclaimer: **See previous chapters. :)

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Final Reflection

* * *

**Jazz**

During English Wednesday morning, our teacher gave us a writing assignment to be turned in Monday morning. The topic was to sum up our lives since school started. Even though most people groaned at the thought of having to write a five-page essay about school, work, and friends, I was ecstatic at the thought.

If I had been given this assignment last year at this same time, I would have been in the boat with the rest of my junior class. But this assignment had come at the exact right moment. I could even sum up my life since school started in one word: exhilarating.

Of course, the only exhilarating part of my life since school started was the month of October, so I would have to say something typical about how nervous I had been in August to be a junior in high school, but I wouldn't spend more than a paragraph discussing that. I would finally spill my guts: about how angry I was at Sam for forcing me and Danny to get along; about how spending time with Danny hadn't been easy; about how amazed I was to find out Danny was my brother.

I would leave out the ghost stuff, of course. Even though the ghosts would make the paper more exciting, I'm sure it would get the teachers wondering about my sanity, or, at the very least, get my teacher to remind me this wasn't supposed to be fiction. Then I would fail, and failing would be worse than them locking me up a loony house.

I was still jotting down everything I wanted to put in my paper when the bell rang. I was going to have to devote every waking moment of my life to this essay to make it the best it could be. And that would be hard to do considering I was also very focused my impending doom, which was now coming two days earlier.

In the form of a date with Dean.

I still couldn't believe he had finally talked me into going on a date with him. He didn't want to call it a date because he realized how much the thought of an actual date freaked me out, but that's what it was. Me and Dean were going to see a movie Thursday night. I had tried to talk him into waiting until after Saturday, but he had insisted on going out before then. Why, I didn't know and didn't want to know, but I had eventually given in and allowed the "date"—or whatever it was—to happen before Saturday.

I was much calmer about Saturday than I figured I would be at this moment. There were only three more days left until I figured out what it was Phantom and Plasmius had in store for me. Only three more days until Vlad Masters squashed their plans.

Only three more days...and everything would finally be over and done with. There would be no more Phantom (whom I hadn't seen since Sunday night) or Plasmius or worrying over their plans for me. I was actually looking forward to Saturday now.

After the bell rang, I would make my way to Spanish, where I would see my little brother. We would talk and act like a brother and sister were supposed to act. He would never know that Phantom was after him. All he would know about Saturday is that Phantom wanted me for some reason and that Vlad was going to stop him from getting me. I was going to protect Danny. If I had it my way, Danny wouldn't even be at the house Saturday.

I was beginning to develop a theory. I had a feeling that Phantom didn't really want me: he was probably just using me to get to Danny. Hopefully, I was wrong, but this thought wouldn't leave my mind now that I knew Phantom had been after Danny for ten years.

All in all, I was going to treasure the next three days. Who knew where and how the chaos was all finally going to end?

* * *

**Danny**

I barely slept Thursday night. I was so anxious for Friday to come that I nearly went to get Jazz as soon as the clock struck twelve midnight, but I knew that would be pointless. She would be asleep, just like I should be asleep. But I wasn't asleep. I was ready for the day to begin so I could have my last day with my sister.

That's what today was going to be. What I really wanted to do was skip all of my classes and spend every minute with her, but I figured that wouldn't be a good thing for two reasons: one, the school would probably call Vlad (who wouldn't care that I wasn't getting my education but would still question me about it later) and two, I didn't know how to explain to Jazz the fact that I was in all of her classes. So I had settled to simply having third period together with her and sticking around after school as long as I could get away with it.

I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, considering I wouldn't get that chance tomorrow. I couldn't believe it: tomorrow was the day; after so many years of training and two years of scouting and kidnapping, tomorrow was the day it would all end.

I flew to school early that day, hoping Jazz would be there early as well. Vlad hadn't let me out of the house any night this week. We had been hard at work putting the finishing touches on the Machine. Tonight we would finish those touch-ups, leaving only the prep work to be done in the morning. But I had wanted out of the house so bad: I had wanted to spend each night doing something with Jazz. Whether it be watching a movie, going bowling, or just sitting and talking about how much we had both missed of each others' lives, I didn't care. I just wanted to have the feeling of Jazz being safe beside me.

That hadn't happened though, and as much as I would've liked it to happen tonight, it wasn't going to happen.

Besides, Jazz had been being overbearingly protective of me since Tuesday. I didn't know what Vlad had told her during their talk, but something he said had triggered this protectiveness in Jazz. Therefore, I had a feeling that even if I did mention hanging out, she wouldn't want to go out anywhere that might pose half-a-chance of me running into something bad.

Speaking of bad things, I was also anxious to finally figure out the second part of the plan Vlad had been working on as of late. I was still dumbfounded. I knew the more I thought about it, the less it would make sense, but there was nothing else for me to do _but _try to figure it out.

Vlad had told me to become friends with the Star. Then he wanted Jazz to start trusting Phantom, just to turn around and crush that trust by revealing that Phantom and Plasmius were working together. Not only that, but he had told her some lie Tuesday that made her think I was in danger of something. And this was all happening while I, Danny, continued to be the best of friends with her.

On top of everything else, I figured Vlad would have already started going over exactly what he wanted to have happen tomorrow. I figured he would have pin-pointed the minute he wanted me to go get Jazz and the second we were going to turn on the Machine. I figured he would have carefully detailed every second of tomorrow. But he hadn't; he hadn't given me a single thing to do tomorrow. And it was beginning to worry me.

The plan was insanity.

He was driving me insane. I was already having to deliver my sister into the hands of someone who wanted to kill her. The least Vlad could do was tell me when I was going to do it.

I couldn't help but entertain the thought that Vlad knew she was my sister. It wasn't a wild thought: it was actually quite probable. But I didn't like thinking that he knew about her. It was easier for me to think that, for once, I knew something Vlad didn't know. It wasn't likely, but it was entertaining.

I was sitting on the steps near the front door when I saw Sam step out of a car; the car wasn't Jazz's. I was instantly confused. I got up and jogged over to her.

"Hey, did Jazz not let you ride with her today?" I joked. I glanced in the car as it began to pull off and caught the back of Patty's head.

She shook her head. "She has a chemistry club field trip today; she had to be at school way early so Patty drove me."

Unknowingly to Sam, she had just given me the worst news ever.

The next time I saw Jazz would be to bring her to her death.

* * *

**Jazz**

Unlike last Saturday, this morning wasn't cheerful and happy. There was more of a gloom setting in the room. But I still got out of bed and got dressed as quickly as possible. It was early, but that was alright. Phantom could be here at any moment.

I was completely ready to go when I set foot downstairs ten minutes later. The only thing I had left to do was eat, but by that time, I was feeling so sick at my stomach at the thought of what was coming that I couldn't eat.

But I still glanced in the kitchen, to make sure Dean wasn't in there. Even though he was a sweet guy, he was still a guy, and guys liked to eat.

I didn't see Dean, but there was a note on the kitchen table. It was from Patty.

—_Running errands. Be back soon. _

I scrunched my eyebrows. That was weird. I shrugged and set the note back down for Sam, who was still sleeping heavily upstairs. She would be perfectly fine away from me today.

I sat on the couch to wait for Dean.

Dean.

The date had been amazing. Tucker had come over, and me, Sam, Dean, and Tucker had all left together to convince Patty that Dean and I weren't spending any time alone. Not long afterward though, Sam and Tucker had gone off to the mall, leaving me alone with Dean, which was more okay than I thought it was going to be. We had laughed and had the best time ever. The movie was fun and exciting, and Dean had done nothing to make anyone—including me—even think that we had been on a date. He had acted as if we were just two friends out for a night of fun.

I was still lost in my memories of Thursday night when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I jumped up to wait on him. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey," he whispered. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine," I answered. "Are you ready?"

He nodded, and we didn't talk again until we were in the car. I was backing out of the drive-way when he started talking.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

I bit my lip. I was; I had to admit that much. But I also felt very cared for. I had Dean, Danny, and Vlad Masters all there to help me through this day. And by the end of the day, Phantom was going down.

"A little bit," I admitted to Dean. I shot him a look. "But I feel better having three people to look after me today."

He smiled at me, but his eyes lost focus for half-a-second. He was looking at something on the other side of me.

"What?" I asked. I turned to look and just caught sight of a motorcycle riding off the other direction.

"I know you don't like them, but they are kind of cool," he commented. I gritted my teeth. Even Dean wasn't perfect. He shook his head. "Forget that; we're focusing on you today." I allowed a small smile. Even if he weren't perfect, he sure tried hard to be.

We chatted about trivial things until we pulled up into Danny's driveway: anything to keep my mind off the day. It was actually a little amusing; the conversation reminded me of Patty keeping my mind off going to the dentist when I was little.

I put the car in park and killed the engine and less than a minute later, I was about to ring the doorbell of my brother's mansion. He would be excited to see me today, even though, if everything went well, he would never know why I was here.

* * *

**Danny**

I was completely confused—even more so than I had been the last few days.

Today was the day, right? Today was the day that we were going to get the Star and use her to give Vlad ultimate power.

Right?

So why was I here in the training room with Vlad at the moment? Shouldn't he have been giving me instruction on how we were going to accomplish our task today? Shouldn't he be giving me order after order, telling me not to mess anything up?

He wasn't; he was acting as if it were a normal Saturday morning. I hadn't slept any that night, and he had ordered me to report to the training room at six thirty. We'd been in here for an hour. I had no idea when he wanted to start the prep work on the Machine, but I figured it wouldn't be much longer until he remembered what today was.

Had he really forgotten?

No. He hadn't forgotten...but he was acting out of character. He was acting unprepared.

I kept up a fast pace, though. I couldn't let him know what was on my mind. I had to act as if everything was making sense. I—

The doorbell startled me. Not two seconds later, Vlad rammed a charged fist into my stomach because of the distraction.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed as I went flying backwards into the wall. I hopped right back up and prepared to fight back, but Vlad held up a hand.

"Get the door," he instructed. He changed back into his human self and began walking toward his lab. "I've got something to do."

Even though I was confused, I knew not to disobey an order from Vlad. As I changed back to human, I glanced at the clock on the wall. Seven-thirty. Just thirty more minutes.

I scampered up the stairs, trying to figure out who it could be. No one ever visited us. Why would someone decide to ring our doorbell on the most important day in our lives?

Before I opened the door, I glanced out the glass window on the side of the door and caught my breath.

Jazz.

I didn't know what to think. Why was she here? And why didn't I know about it?

I couldn't not open the door for much longer. I reached for the knob and swallowed hard. Something was going on. Something weird. I figured I still needed to play the clueless little brother. I wasn't even supposed to know that Phantom and Plasmius were planning something today. All Jazz had told me was that she was in danger from them.

She hadn't told me anything about Phantom and Plasmius, which was extremely surprising. I figured she would've been talking non-stop about Saturday all week. Instead, she hadn't said a word about Phantom or Plasmius since Saturday in the park.

I sighed angrily. Everyone I thought I had figured out, I didn't.

"Hey, Danny!" Jazz greeted as soon as the door was open wide enough. She gave me a hug, like I had become accustomed to receiving.

"Hey, Jazz. Dean," I nodded. He nodded back with pursed lips. I narrowed my eyes. What was that about? Did he know what was going to happen? And if so, why was he here? "So what's up?" I asked, shutting the door. I turned to face them.

Dean answered. "Not much; we just decided to come and hang today. Is that okay?" he asked.

I leveled a gaze on him. No, it was not okay that they had decided to come today. Why had no one told me about this? I directed my answer at Jazz. "I guess, but it's kind of early, isn't it? And besides, I had no clue you were coming over."

Now Vlad's comment about irony Tuesday afternoon made sense: Jazz had just walked into her own doom. That's why Vlad hadn't given me any instruction on going to get her: she had come to us.

Jazz smiled a smile of innocence and complete trust. "We figured we could surprise you," she answered. She grabbed my shoulder. "Do you not like surprises?"

"Sometimes I don't," I answered truthfully. I looked back at the door. I felt like it was trapping us in. "But it is early. We don't have to start our day this early. Give me until eight at least. You can come back then."

"Oh we aren't leaving this house today, Danny," Jazz told me seriously. She looked behind her. "Where's Vlad?"

"Vlad?" I asked. "Why do you want—"

At that moment, I heard the sharp tap of Vlad's shoes from down the hall, and I knew the end was coming—literally. There was no more stalling. As much as I hated the fact that my sister was the Star and she was about to be killed to give Vlad power, I knew I had no choice but to obey Master.

After all, he was Master. There wasn't much else I could do but obey him.

* * *

**A/N: **The end is near! Give me your thoughts! And here's a special sneak peak!

_I screamed. _

_I screamed bloody murder. _

_I couldn't believe Plasmius was so good at doing his job that he could imitate other people so well. I couldn't believe I had fallen in his trap. _

_And slowly, realization dawned on me. _

_This—the machine I was strapped to—was what Phantom and Plasmius had planned for me today. And I had walked right into his trap. _

_To answer Vlad's earlier question, I am not a fan of irony. _


	25. Chapter 20: Trap

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews! As a note, I am not intentionally dragging this out. I'm naturally long-winded person and it takes me a while to get my point across. Also, there are tons of key events that have all led up to the moment you're all about to witness. Each point was key, and I couldn't leave anything out. To tell you how detail-oriented I've been about this story, I drew up a calender to make sure things didn't happen to close together or too far apart.

All that said, enjoy the chapter! Hopefully, these next few chapters will prove to be interesting.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter Twenty: Trap

* * *

**Jazz**

I felt bad at how confused Danny was. The fact that I was putting him through this wondering wasn't good, but I didn't have another choice. Vlad was the only person I trusted to take care of me today, and I couldn't be close to Vlad without being close to Danny. Besides, I enjoyed spending time with Danny. My essay was nearly finished, and if there were a theme about it, it was that I enjoyed spending time with my little brother.

I spun around at the sound of Vlad coming up the hall. Finally, I could feel safe today.

"Hello, Jasmine," Vlad greeted.

"Hi, Mr. Masters. How are you this morning?" I asked politely.

He grinned a toothy grin. "Exceptionally well, thank-you." I wasn't surprised by his answer. He must be excited to have such a good shot at capturing Phantom today. And he did me a courtesy by not asking how I was. I couldn't truthfully answer good or bad at the moment. "And who's this?" Vlad asked, looking at Dean.

"His name's Dean," I answered. The two shook hands.

"Well, if introductions are over, I have something I'd like to show you, Jasmine. It's down in the basement, if you'll follow me." He began walking toward the door that Danny had shown me a couple of weeks back. He motioned for the boys to follow.

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. "Danny told me you don't like people going down there. He said it was messy."

Vlad paused for a second and glanced over his shoulder at Danny. I did the same, trying to make sense of the strange reaction. Danny's eyes were averted to the wall.

Vlad replied, "Well, I've been working extremely hard the past two weeks to get it ready for my ghost research. It's a vast improvement of what it was two weeks ago. I can't resist showing it off now."

I shrugged, and we continued walking until we came to the door. He held it open for me. "Ladies first, of course." I smiled and stepped onto the staircase. He was such a gentleman.

I was astounded at what I saw once I could see the entire basement. There were shelves and tables and gadgets of all kinds strewn everywhere. And straight back, positioned against the wall, was a huge, glowing green portal-looking thing. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie.

"Wow," I breathed. "This is kind of amazing," I noted. My eyes scanned the ginormous room in all directions, and landed on a big, scary looking machine to the right. I walked toward it. It was shining silver and it looked brand new. There were straps built into it, looking as if it could hold someone captive. I had a feeling it was for Phantom. Above the machine was a rather large compartment, built to hold something—but what? To the left-side was a panel of buttons, and to the right was a lever.

Even though I felt nosy poking around, I couldn't resist a further inspection of the machine. I glanced back to make sure I wasn't overstepping my boundaries, but Vlad, who was standing right behind me, motioned me to continue. I looked around the side of it. There were five compartments big enough to hold a human behind the machine, all connected to the machine by a thick wire.

I turned back around. Dean was looking at the machine with a slightly-less interested look I had. Danny was looking at the ground. Vlad was looking at me with a wide smile.

"What do you think of my prized possession?" he asked.

"It's...intimidating, I have to say," I answered honestly. I glanced back at it. "What's it used for—" I began to ask, but was interrupted when someone grabbed me and pushed me toward the machine. My back hit the machine so hard it stunned me long enough for Vlad—he was the closest to me—to strap me into the machine. As soon as he let go, I looked up, confused.

"What are you doing?" I asked. My head was spinning from the quick action that had just taken place.

Vlad was still smiling, but now his smile looked menacing. "I'm showing you what the Machine is used for." Vlad paced away from the machine, toward a neatly organized table. He threw a glanced back toward me. "Are you a fan of irony, Jasmine?" Vlad asked. "Because if you are, the next few minutes are going to be fun for you."

I yanked at my bonds, but it was no use. I was stuck here, confused and hurt. What was with Vlad's sudden change of attitude? Where was the caring man who had promised to protect me?

It was only then that I realized Vlad had never promised his protection. He had said he would enjoy having me over today, but he had never actually said he would protect me. I glared at Vlad. Why would he trick me like that? What was he doing? Was he working with the ghosts? Was that why he had tried to get me to trust him? Was that why he had me tied up now?

I cast a look at Danny and Dean. Dean had his arms crossed and his lips pursed, but he looked relaxed, for lack of a better word. Danny was still just staring at the floor. There had been no sounds of surprise or protest when Vlad had pushed me into this machine, and now neither one of them was doing anything to get me free.

Why?

Why wasn't Dean—this guy I had come to care so much for—not helping me? And why wasn't my own brother trying to help me?

"Confused?" Vlad asked. I moved my eyes back to Vlad. He was looking directly at me, still standing near the table. "Let me clear a few things up for you. First of all..." A ring of black light formed around Vlad's waist. I jumped in surprise. The ring separated in two, one traveling up his body, the other down it. I didn't have to wait until the transformation was complete before I recognized who it was.

I screamed.

I screamed bloody murder.

I couldn't believe Plasmius was so good at doing his job that he could imitate other people so well. I couldn't believe I had fallen into his trap.

And slowly, realization dawned on me.

_This—_the machine I was strapped to—was what Phantom and Plasmius had planned for me today. And I had walked right into his trap.

To answer Vlad's earlier question, I am not a fan of irony.

What had Plasmius done with Vlad? Where was the man that had taken care of Danny for ten years?

Almost as if he could read my thoughts, Plasmius floated closer to me. He put a hand under my chin. "Dear girl, I know you must still be confused. But I must tell you to stop thinking that I have done anything with Vlad Masters. I am one and the same. I am not two separate beings, but one person with some ghost DNA infused into my human DNA. A half-ghost, if you will."

Vlad continued talking, but my thoughts came to a startling halt.

Was he really telling me that he was half-ghost/half-human? What did that mean? Had he lied about everything else? The answer was obvious: yes. Why would Vlad be hunting Phantom if the two of them were working together? I couldn't believe I had been stupid enough to fall for his lies.

I stared at Danny, who was still staring at the ground. I had to wonder what was up with him. Why was he just standing there, doing nothing as the man who raised him revealed that he wasn't completely human.

Of course, the fact that Danny already _knew _Vlad was half-ghost was a fact that I didn't want to admit to myself, but it was also a fact I knew I had to consider. Danny was standing stone still—he didn't seem surprised at all by Vlad's revelation. But if Danny already knew that Vlad and Plasmius were one and the same, why wouldn't he have warned me about him?

I hadn't told him too many details about being over here today, but last Saturday I had said something about Plasmius planning something against me. Why hadn't Danny spoken up then? Why hadn't he told me that Plasmius was Vlad and that I should get away from him.

There were only two explanations for why he hadn't spoken up: one, he didn't know Plasmius was evil (which didn't make sense, but made me feel better); or two, he was working with Plasmius (which was more likely, but didn't make me feel good).

I didn't understand why Danny would deal with someone like Plasmius though, especially since Plasmius was planning on hurting—and if Saturday's conversation was any clue, _killing—_me. He was my brother. He was supposed to have my best interest in mind.

I supposed that's why Vlad hadn't wanted me to tell Danny that I was coming over today. He was probably afraid that Danny would've told me to stay as far away as possible. I gritted my teeth. I had fallen into Plasmius's trap every way imaginable.

But still, when I had told Danny at the park Saturday about Plasmius and Phantom, he should have seen the danger I was going to be in.

Something wasn't adding up. There was still a missing piece in this puzzle.

I had to wonder where Phantom was. Why wasn't he here yet? And that got me thinking about what Vlad had told me about Phantom on Tuesday. I couldn't help but wonder what the truth about Phantom was now. There was no way what Vlad had told me was the truth.

Here I was: no one knew I was here except the people in this room, and none of the people in this room looked too keen on helping me at the moment. I had no idea how long the procedure—or whatever Plasmius was planning on doing—was going to take. I just had to hope that it would take long enough that Patty could get back home and realize I wasn't there. She would call my cell phone and when I didn't answer she would get worried. I always answered my cell phone. It wouldn't take her long to get things sorted out. Maybe she could find me in time.

Plasmius wasn't in front of me anymore. He was back at the table. I wasn't sure when he had finished talking to me, but now he was looking at Danny, addressing me.

"I need to show you one other thing before I dispose of you, Jasmine," he commented lightly, as if he were mentioning how cloudy it was outside this morning.

"Dispose of me?" I yelled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He turned to face me directly. "Oh, and here I was, thinking you were bright." He paused, sighing. "Dispose means—"

"I know what it means," I called back, exasperated. "Why do you want to dispose of me?"

He shook his head. "It's none of your concern. You won't be around after the Machine drains you, and you won't have to endure the consequences. But you're going to give me something that enables me to, more or less, take over the world. Aren't you special?"

I gasped, my eyes widening. I glanced back at Danny and Dean. Danny was still standing stone still, acting as if he couldn't move unless Plasmius told him to—which I was beginning to think was the truth. But Dean's pose was different. His arms were still crossed, but he didn't look as laid back as he had been before. His hands were baled into fists and he looked slightly paranoid.

"Hey," he called. "You are going to keep your part of the deal, right? That after this is over, she's mine?"

And there was my answer about Dean: he was working with Plasmius too. I couldn't believe I had been tricked like this...or used like this. I had really thought Dean cared about me. I had—

"Did you say _YOURS?" _I asked suddenly. I wasn't anybody's anything.

He threw a glance at me and narrowed his eyes, but he didn't answer. He just looked back at Plasmius for an answer.

"Yes, of course I'll keep my part of the deal. Now, if I could stop being interrupted, I have one last thing I need to get done before we move forward." Plasmius turned his attention to Danny. I sucked in a breath, fearful of whatever was about to happen. "Daniel, look at me."

Danny snapped his head up, and looked directly at Plasmius. The fact that Danny was so quick to obey scared me. Did Plasmius have him trained or something?

"Change," he commanded next. If I hadn't have been watching Danny so closely, I would have missed his eyes widening slightly. What did that command mean? Change? Change what?

Danny didn't react immediately to this. He just stood there, frozen, staring at Vlad.

"Daniel, I said change," Vlad quietly repeated. Danny still stood stone still.

I looked between him and Vlad, confused and worried. Why wasn't Danny responding to this command like he had responded to Vlad's first command?

"Daniel, ch—" Vlad began forcefully, but he was cut off by a white light appearing around Danny's waist. I was startled, and if I could've, I would've jumped back. What was this? This looked just like Vlad before he had changed into Plasmius.

Danny's eyes were closed, and the ring of light moved across his body much more slowly than the black ring had moved across Vlad's. But I still realized who my little brother was turning into before the rings had finished their job.

I could've spotted the black jumpsuit a mile away. It was accented by white in several areas. As soon as the ring passed his eyes, they opened, revealing his green eyes. The ring traveled over Danny's head, revealing his startling silver-white hair. Within a couple of seconds, the brother I had never known but had come to love tremendously over the last few weeks had turned into the monstrous Phantom.

I didn't scream this time. I just stared at Phantom, who was staring at Plasmius.

This was the missing puzzle piece.

Phantom was already here in this room. We weren't waiting on him; the two ghosts had everything in order to proceed on with my demise.

My brother was Phantom. How was that even right? My brother was half-ghost. My amazing little brother was a monster.

At that moment, I realized I didn't really know Danny Masters. Sure, he was who four-year-old Danny Fenton had grown into, but I didn't know him. I thought I did. I thought it had been simple; he was my little brother. He was just like he had been ten years ago, only older.

But I was slowly realizing that wasn't true. Danny Masters was _not _Danny Fenton. They were two distinctly different people. I was too stuck in the past to realize what was right in front of me. It was easy to think that I knew who my brother was, but I was dead wrong.

In my mind, my brother was still four years old. Whoever this was standing in front of me was not, in my mind, my brother. He was some stranger that had put his sick and twisted need for power before his supposed sister.

Therefore, I hated him.

That was the only reaction I had. I couldn't stand the person standing in front of me. He had pretended to be my friend and brother, but the entire time, he was working behind the scenes. I had told him about Phantom and about how scared I was of him, and Danny had taken it all in stride. He had even suggested that I talk to Vlad about my problems.

He had fostered me all the way to my death.

I glared at Phantom, hating him for his tricks. I wasn't mad or scared or upset. There wasn't any room for those emotions. Hate took up all the room.

If I got out of here alive, I would have to have a funeral for my little brother, and, hopefully, Phantom too.

* * *

**A/N: **Tense. Tough. Touching? Nah. :) Review please!


	26. Chapter 21: Time

**A/N: **Alright. It's time for Chapter 21. The first part of this chapter is Danny's POV from before he revealed himself. This section is very important because it unravels Vlad's plan.

Get ready...for a big surprise! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DP.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One: Time

* * *

**Danny**

I couldn't do anything but stare at the ground. Vlad hadn't told me anything to do yet, and I didn't feel like looking at Jazz, so I just stared at the ground.

I couldn't believe Vlad had revealed that he was Plasmius so quickly. Why did it matter who he was? He was about to end Jazz's life. He could've skipped all the dramatics and cut right to the chase. It would've saved him a lot of time.

I had cringed when Vlad had used the harsh word "dispose." Even though that was what we were about to do, it seemed harsh to say that word to Jazz's face. Why couldn't we just knock her out so she wouldn't know what was going on. That's how the Points were at the moment: they were lying unconscious behind the Machine, having no idea that they were about to fuel a machine to end someone's life. They were peaceful. Why couldn't Jazz have peace in her final minutes?

I still couldn't figure out how Dean was involved in all of this. I thought Dean had really cared for Jazz. I guess I didn't know him as well as I thought I did. But I was still confused. Vlad hadn't said anything about hiring someone else to help us with this plan. Why hadn't he told me?

"Hey," Dean suddenly called. "You are going to keep your part of the deal, right? That after this is over, she's mine?"

I nearly looked at Dean, but I dutifully kept my head lowered. (I had a feeling that Vlad wanted me to act the way I always did in front of him at the moment, instead of the strange way he usually wanted me to act in front of other people.) But his comment made me curious. Didn't he know that we were going to kill Jazz?

"Did you say _YOURS?" _Jazz asked loudly. I cringed. She was about to die, and she was worried about someone claiming her?

Dean didn't answer.

"Yes, of course I'll keep my part of the deal. Now, if I could stop being interrupted, I have one last thing I need to get done before we move forward." Vlad replied. I could feel his eyes on me, and I was slightly afraid of whatever else he had up his sleeve before we activated the Machine. "Daniel, look at me."

I snapped my head up, and looked directly at Vlad. I was trying not to pay Jazz any attention. Or Dean for that matter. No one had ever seen me obey Vlad like this before.

"Change," he commanded. Against my will and better judgment, I allowed my eyes to widen slightly. He wanted me to...what now? Did he really want me to change in front of Jazz? What was the purpose of this? Why did it matter?

This was the first command in a long time that I hadn't reacted to immediately. Vlad had to repeat himself.

"Daniel, I said change." Surprisingly, he said it quietly. It was at the that moment that I knew that Vlad knew. Vlad knew Jazz was my sister. I wasn't exactly sure why I was surprised by this fact.

"Daniel, ch—" Vlad began again, but I didn't let him finish. Master was not supposed to repeat himself three times. If he did, bad things happened. I summoned the white rings and closed my eyes. I took a chance at closing my eyes, because Vlad had not told me to close my eyes, but I couldn't do this with my eyes open. This was going to be the hardest thing I had ever done.

While I allowed the rings to wash over my body very slowly, I figured a couple of things out:

One—why Vlad had hired someone else to bring Jazz to the house today. Vlad had hired Dean to bring Jazz here because he must have had a hunch that it would be too difficult for me to bring my own sister to her death. He hadn't done this out of kindness; he had done it because he was afraid that I would've run off with his precious Star.

Two—why Vlad had wanted me to gain Jazz's trust, then destroy it: in other words, Vlad's plan. Vlad knew exactly what he was doing. He had known from the moment I had told him who the Star was. He must have decided that the Star being my sister was an opportune moment too good to pass up. He had come up with a plan to make Jazz hate my guts.

First, he had staged those battles so Jazz would think Phantom was good. Then, he had planned the talk in the park so Phantom would fall from good to evil in her eyes. Therefore, when Jazz thought about Phantom, she thought about a lying, evil, manipulative ghost. All the while, Vlad told me to continue getting closer to Jazz as Danny. He wanted Danny on her good side, and Phantom on her bad side.

Then he had planned what was happening right now: my revealing that Jazz's brother and Phantom were one and the same. He must have predicted that Jazz would automatically assume that Phantom was my true nature. That meant that everything she knew about me as Danny would vanish. All she would see in me was the evil ghost. She would die thinking Phantom was evil, but not only that.

She would die believing her brother was evil.

Vlad had planned this because he wanted to crush Jazz not only physically, but mentally. She would die a horrible death, with the knowledge that her brother had betrayed her.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I had completed the transformation and looked back at Vlad. I wasn't about to look at Jazz right now.

But Vlad had other plans.

"Now look at her," he commanded. I bit my lip, and continued looking directly at Vlad. Even though I had connected those last few thoughts and finally put an end to the mystery of what Vlad's plan was, I still couldn't figure out what good it did to make Jazz suffer. I had to suppose the reason for the suffering was because Vlad was evil, and he had to get his kicks some way.

"Daniel, obey me. Look her in the eye," he demanded once again. I couldn't believe I was making him repeat himself like this again. I felt horrible about it, but I knew once I turned to face her, I would have to see all those horrible emotions flash across her face. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. Fear. Hate. Distrust.

"D—" I snapped my eyes over to Jazz, not allowing Vlad to even finish my name this time. Jazz was looking right at me with no sort of hesitation. But I was wrong. I didn't see all those emotions on her face.

The way her eyebrows were etched deep into her eyes and the gleam in her eye gave it away: all I saw was hate. She hated me. And that hurt worse than all the others combined. Vlad had had his mission accomplished; she didn't see Danny anymore. All she saw was Phantom.

"Well, Daniel, now that we've gotten all our business taken care of, come and help me." I looked away from Jazz's sour look and floated over to the table where Vlad was. This was it; in mere minutes, my sister would be dead.

And it wasn't even seven forty-five.

* * *

**Jazz**

Even though I was hurt and confused, I had to put aside those emotions for the moment and work on figuring a way out of this place.

Dean, however unlikely, was my only hope.

While the ghosts were distracted at the table, I whispered to Dean. "Hey, get me out of this thing."

Dean had been warily watching Phantom and Plasmius, but at the sound of my voice, he turned to me. He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Sorry, no can do."

I sighed. "You're obviously not convinced this is a good idea."

He shook his head and glanced back at the ghosts. "Maybe not; but it's the only way I can get what I want, so be a good girl and stay quiet."

I was about to ask what he wanted, but then I remembered. He wanted me.

I almost growled. "Are you doing this because I wouldn't go on a date with you for so long?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "Because if you are, that can change. I like you, you know that. Why do you have to go through such drastic measures to get this done?" I was lying, of course. Him bringing me here and putting me up for my death was _not _how I had imagined our second date turning out.

"Yeah, I had to do this; you wouldn't listen to me any other way," he told me.

"Yes, I would. You convinced me to listen." Why was it I got the feeling that we were talking about different things?

"No, that's not what I mean," he said, but he left it at that. He didn't clarify anything.

I glared at him. "How could you work with such a sick guy anyway? And how long have you been working for him? You've had me wearing my emotions on my sleeve. I told you how scared Plasmius and Phantom made me, but you still brought me here this morning. Why? Are you some half-ghost, like those two?" I asked harshly.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "No, I'm not half-ghost."

I growled quietly. That wasn't exactly the point I had been trying to make with my rant, but since he was so inclined on that subject... "So what, you're some deranged human?"

He closed his eyes, then opened them, looking at me from the corner of his eyes again. "No, I'm not human."

The answer to that question wasn't one I had expected. I didn't have anything to say for a couple of seconds. Then I asked quietly, "Then...what are you?"

He tried to smile, but it turned into something like a grimace. "I'm a ghost," he answered simply.

My eyes widened, and I tried to cringe away from him, to no avail. "W-what?" I asked. "How long—?"

"I've been overshadowing 'Dean' for nearly a month now." I wasn't able to say anything to that for about a minute.

When I finally found my voice, I retorted, "So Dean is...where?" I asked.

The ghost overshadowing Dean shrugged. "Dead. He died in the fire with his parents last month." I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. Suddenly, my flower field dream made sense. No wonder Dean had abandoned me; I didn't actually know him, and he didn't know me. That dream had been my subconscious telling me something was wrong and I hadn't listened.

"So...w-why did you have to overshadow someone? Why didn't you just show up?" I asked. I didn't really care, and the question didn't really make sense, but I needed to distract myself from thinking about Dean—a guy I had never known.

At this, he looked right at me. "You would've recognized me," he answered simply.

I shot him a look. "That's impossible. I don't know any ghosts," I lied.

"Don't you?" he asked. He took a step toward me, then another.

"No...no," I answered, but I wasn't answering his question. I was trying to deny the obvious.

"Of course you do. You're dead boyfriend John. Remember him? You told me about him Sunday night. You said something about him dying in a motorcycle wreck. Remember?" he asked. He was still walking toward me.

"No...you can't...you aren't," I blabbered, closing my eyes. I opened them when I felt his hand on my chin, and what I saw nearly made me sick. Johnny's green eyes were looking at me, and Dean's body was lying on the ground a couple of paces back.

"Oh...but I am," he answered. "And that's why I did it, Jazz. Because you wouldn't take me back two years ago, I had to find another way to get to you. Plasmius offered, and I took him up on the offer."

The mention of Plasmius brought my thoughts to a dead stand-still—it reminded me of the danger I was still in. I looked feverishly into Johnny's eyes, still seeing him as my only way out of this predicament, no matter how much it disgusted me now.

"Johnny, he's going to kill me. I heard him say it himself, last Saturday. He said something about killing the Star."

Johnny's eyes narrowed at that. He let go of my chin and turned to look at Plasmius. "Is that true?" he yelled across the room. Plasmius and Phantom looked up; Phantom looked surprised to see someone else standing in Dean's place. I overlooked it. "Are you going to kill her?" he asked.

Plasmius growled. "Why would you think that? I promised I'd give her to you."

He looked back at me, straight into my eyes. I could see that he still cared deeply for me, no matter how much that thought creeped me out. He gritted his teeth and glanced back at Plasmius. "That's true." My hopes vanished. "But you didn't say she'd be safe and sound, and I don't want her hurt. Promise me you won't hurt her."

Plasmius grinned and leaned on the table. "Well, maybe you should have thought about that before now." Johnny's eyes widened.

"So you are going to—" Johnny started to say. He broke off quickly though, and his face became determined. "Then deals off, Plasmius." Johnny reached for a button on the panel to my right side, and I felt my hopes soar. He was really going to rescue me!

My hopes were shattered when something hit Johnny out of the way. "NO!" I exclaimed, looking toward the two other ghosts in the room. Phantom had his hand outstretched, and smoke was cascading off his balled fist. I glared at him, then looked over to where Johnny was standing back up.

Johnny lunged back toward the machine, but he was met head on by Phantom. They both went flying into the wall. Phantom stood up, but Johnny stayed down. His eyes were closed, his head lolling to one side.

"NO!" I yelled again. Phantom looked at me over his shoulder. "You monster!" I exclaimed, trying my hardest to get out of the bonds holding me to the machine. This was so backwards. In a better world, Danny wouldn't be Phantom, and _he _would be the one trying to save me.

"Phantom, we're ready," Plasmius stated. My breathing turned uneven; this was it—there was no more hope for escape.

But I had to wonder...what were they going to do now that they were ready?

"Turn on the Machine." Phantom lifted his balled fist again, this time pointing it directly at me.

* * *

**Danny**

Turn on the Machine was the order I had been waiting for. Vlad had just told me what I needed to do. He had said that Jazz had to be knocked out by ghostly energy to activate the Machine—and Vlad said he wanted me to shoot her with an ecto-blast.

Even though I wished he had picked an better way to knock her out, I figured this must be the easiest and fastest way. And he must have really wanted her to die with no respect for her brother.

I charged my fist with ectoplasm. Her eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. I glanced at Vlad, who was watching Jazz, then back at Jazz. I pursed my lips. This shot would be the hardest part of the entire process.

With my fist pointed in Jazz's direction, I shot.

* * *

**A/N: **I know, I know. Worst cliffie ever! But honestly, I haven't been too harsh on you with cliffhangers in this story. But every time there's big cliffie, there seems to be an intermission. Oh well, I guess that makes them a bit worse.

Seriously, there's only an intermission, 3 chapters, and an epilogue left. Hang on just a little longer!


	27. Intermission IV: Danny

**A/N: **Oh c'mon...you knew it was coming! But don't skip it! :(

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DP.

* * *

Intermission IV: Danny

* * *

It was two years ago, give or take a day I think.

Vlad and I were in Florida, on our first kidnapping run. I had failed to capture our first victim, and Vlad had punished me. He was being so intense. So I tried to run away one night. I succeeded too, even though I was pretty sure Vlad knew I was gone. He would come after me later.

I was probably stupid to run away, but this beating was the worst Vlad had ever given me. I wanted to get away from him, if only for an hour. The night was pitch black when I tried to fly as far away from Vlad as possible, and for all I knew I had been turning circles all night and was still in his vicinity.

Lying on my back on the sidewalk half concealed by the darkness of an alley (but not really because my glowing would have given me away) was when I heard the voice.

"Are you alright?"

I was too tired to be troubled. I didn't even open my eyes.

"Yes, mam." Even half-dead on the side-walk I couldn't think of how not to answer someone politely. Vlad had me trained much too greatly for that.

"You're lying." The woman spoke with a calm and soothing voice. "Now, sit up." I could feel her on her knees beside me. Her hands were suddenly gripping my arms as she pulled me up. It surprised me how easily she was able to pull me up.

"Oh, you poor boy," she mumbled as she looked over my cuts and bruises. I remember thinking that her mumblings were weird. Most people shied away from glowing people in hazmat suits. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," I lied lamely.

The woman sighed. "Oh well. If you won't answer me, you won't answer me. But I'm much too good a person to leave you lying on the ground. Stand up!" I groaned. But the groan was turned into a shout of surprise when I suddenly found my feet dangling in the air.

"AH! Put me down!" I demanded. I was nearly to the point of turning intangible when she finally put my feet back on the ground. My head was rushing, but my senses were back to being razor sharp. My eyes were wide, wary of this woman who would so easily associate herself with glowing strangers.

"Who are you and what are you doing?" I asked.

The woman had her hands in the air. "My name is Clara and all I'm trying to do is give first aid to a ghost."

My eyebrows lowered in confusion. "What?"

She laughed. "I figured I should get that little part out the open as soon as I could because you look like you're about to pop out of here."

"How do you know—" I started.

"Oh please. _Besides _the fact that you're glowing and that I've been trained to recognize ghosts for years, my tracker here started going berserk a few minutes ago."

I tried to let all the information catch up to me. "Okay, new question: why are you carrying a ghost tracker around with you?"

"Because it's my job," she answered bluntly. "Now be quiet and hold still. You're bleeding everywhere!"

I jumped back, ten feet in the air. "The only people I know who have jobs that require ghost trackers are ghost _hunters_." Well, even though I'd never been in contact with a ghost hunter (save my parents, but I wasn't even four when I knew them—and I hardly had a reason to be afraid of ghost weapons back then), Vlad had told me about them. He'd been in lots of scuffles with hunters before he adopted me.

"I'm a different kind of ghost hunter," she finally conceded.

I flew further away from her.

"Would you listen to me for a minute?" she asked.

"Why should I?"

"I'm a Gals in White agent. Ever heard of it?"

"I have heard of Guys in White." Vlad had told me about them. They were top secret government ghost hunters that weren't really a secret. Vlad had told me all I had to worry about when it came to those guys was getting their suits dirty and they'd be distracted enough for me to get away.

"Well, the Gals in White is a much better kept secret government ghost hunting program. We are better equipped, better trained, smarter, and—well, frankly—better looking. We're smart enough to not judge a ghost by it's ectoplasm. We look for the oddities—the ones fighting their evil nature. I want to help you."

I was confused. Majorly. "How do you know I'm not an evil ghost?" After all, I was.

"I don't know that yet. And I have the means to stop your bleeding. Now get down here and—"

"Can't. You can not fix my wounds. My master would know, and then I would be in much more trouble."

She fixed a hard glare on me, and I had to wonder at her intensity.

"Who's your master?" she asked.

"Now why in the world would I tell you that?" I asked, bewildered.

"Because I'm asking nicely."

"I won't—" But I was cut off by a net flying out of nowhere. I suddenly found myself zero feet from the ground with an ecto-gun pointed at my head.

"Tell me the name of your master, ghost, or get your head blown off," she threatened. I tried my luck at getting out of the net. Intangibility wouldn't work, and I couldn't seem to break it. "Don't even try; it's fully ghost-proof."

I sighed, giving in. "His name is Plasmius. There, you happy?" I hadn't been as smart when it came to dealing with other people back then. I had never actually talked to a human before.

Clara pulled the ecto-gun out of my face and smiled. "See? Everything is so much easier when you cooperate." The net fell away, and I was free.

I was so stunned, I simply sat there stupidly. "Why in the world did you let me go?"

"Oh, you would rather be captured?" she asked sweetly.

"No!" I shot into the air once again.

"Just because you work for the number one most wanted ghost in our database doesn't mean your evil. Now get," she commanded, pointing the gun at me again, "Before I see to it that Plasmius is captured to_night_."

Vlad beat me up again once I got home. He was more angry than I had ever seen him. But I just took it, and didn't allow myself to think about the pain. He then allowed me to explain what had happened while I was out. After receiving another beating for giving up crucial information to a ghost hunter, we moved out of the city.

We had to move far enough out that no attention would be drawn to us by the local ghost hunter, but we weren't able to move too far away because we still needed to capture the first Point. We'd been in town almost two weeks now. The city was rather large and finding the Point had taken longer than expected.

Two days later, I was in town at almost sun down, following the boy I needed to capture. I was in my human form so as to not draw any attention to myself; I had to succeed tonight. At the moment, the Point was rummaging around a souvenir shop with a big group of people. I had a feeling it might be awhile before he was alone.

It was then I saw Clara again. I was surprised to see her—after all, as stated before, it was a large town. Even though I knew it was crazy for me to do so, I was paranoid being in the same vicinity as her again. But she had no way of knowing who I was underneath my black hair and blue eyes. I was completely safe.

So I kept my watch close by the door. I was trying to look preoccupied with the fake snakes and sharks and other strange items. Did people really buy these things? I hoped not.

"Hey, kid." I didn't pay any attention to the voice. There were dozens of people talking in here. Whoever it was couldn't be talking to m—

Someone jerked me by my arm, causing me to turn all the way around. I was face to face with Clara.

"Didn't you hear me call you?" she asked.

I looked from side to side, then back to her. "I didn't know you were calling me." I waited a beat. "Who are you?"

She was frowning and her eyes were narrowed. "C'mon. I want to talk to you." She started pulling on my wrist, dragging me toward the door.

"Hey! No, I don't know you." I dug my heels into the ground, effectively stopping her. I was supposed to be the kidnapper, not the one being kidnapped.

She turned to face me. "Okay, fine. We'll talk here, out in the open where anyone passing by can hear. Why did this ghost tracker register you?"

My eyes went wide before I became the one pushing her out the door. We walked down to an unlit section of the sidewalk along with building. "What?" I asked her once we were away from everybody else.

She was smiling. "This ghost tracker picked you up earlier. It didn't go off, which is weird, but when I checked it, you were on the screen."

I decided to play dumb. "You mean my picture showed up on some silly device of yours, and you get worried? I mean, you actually believe in ghosts?" I asked.

"Yes, I do. I've seen some," she told me. "And you believe in um too or else you wouldn't have dragged me out here."

I bit my lip. "Okay, okay, I believe in ghosts. But I've never seen one, and I don't know what you're trying to get at with—"

"You're a ghost human hybrid—that's what I'm trying to get at."

I was totally and completely alarmed, but I didn't show it. I gave her a look that I hoped made her think I thought she was crazy. "What?" I asked.

"You heard me," she smirked.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Then I looked at her again and sighed. "Okay, mam. Everything will be fine once you get settled in a hospital. I'll even take you there myself." I stretched out my hand to take hers, but instead of complying, she hit my hand with something that shocked me.

"AHHHH!" I pulled my hand back and shook it, trying to get the sting out. "What did you do that for?"

"This device only hurts ghosts. Now try and tell me I'm crazy."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you want, lady?" I asked, harshly.

She was smirking again. "Look, kid. I just wanna know if you're that ghost from two nights back."

"And I want to know how in the world you know about half-ghosts," I shot back.

"Easy. I've seen one before," she admitted with a shrug. It was harder to hide my reaction about that. Did that mean there was another half-ghost out there somewhere? Or had she seen Vlad? "I told you Vlad Masters was at the top our Most Wanted List, didn't I?"

"How did you know his name was Masters?" I asked. Again, it had taken months of practice to really nail down keeping my mouth shut around humans. I hardly spoke around Vlad, it was true. But I never had to lie to Vlad. The ease with which I lie now developed with much practice.

"Kid, you're really bad at lying," she blatantly told me. "Besides, I know his name is Masters because I'm exceptionally smart. No one else I know of knows his human name."

I growled and put a hand to my forehead. "What do you want with me?" I asked. Vlad was going to kill me.

Her smile now wasn't sarcastic. It was sweet. "I said I wanted to help you, didn't I? The other night?" I thought back. Yes, she had said something like that. "Look, uh...what's your name?"

I clamped my lips together. She wasn't getting my name out of this.

She sighed. "Fine. Look, kid. I said something about looking for the oddities, didn't I? Well, we also look for ghosts who want to reform their ways. I don't want to brag, but I've reformed a few ghosts in my day. Since your human too, it'll be even easier to turn your back on your ghostly nature. I can help you; you can come with me and I'll help you."

I frowned at her. Turn my back on my ghostly nature? What? Sure, I didn't particularly like being half-ghost, but I could never turn my back on Vlad. It wasn't that I actually liked the guy, but he had raised me. And more important than that, he would find me if I turned away from him.

"Kid," Clara began. "I don't want you to make a decision now. Here's the place I'm staying at." She handed me a card. "I'm in town for another three days. If you wanna talk, I'll listen."

With that, Clara walked away.

I stood looking after her long after I couldn't see her anymore. Finally, though, I brought out the tracker for the Point and saw that he was still inside the building. I walked back inside and took up my post again. Later that night, I captured him and took him home. Vlad was crazy happy. He began searching for the direction we needed to head to find the next Point.

That night, it took me hours to fall asleep. I couldn't get Clara's words out of my head.

But the next morning, there was no more Clara. I was Vlad's and Vlad's alone. My life was devoted to him. I couldn't turn my back on him.

Ever.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it took a week to update. I've been a very very very very busy person this week and this weekend.

Review Please!


	28. Chapter 22: Slice of Freedom

**A/N: **Are you ready? The moment is finally here... The last time we were with Danny, he was about to shoot Jazz. What's happening now?

Thanks to all my WONDERFUL reviewers! I good review really makes me feel awesome! Thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own DP.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two: Slice of Freedom

* * *

**Danny**

I wasn't sure who was more surprised at the moment. Jazz—

Or Vlad.

Vlad had expected me to shoot, but he hadn't expected me to shoot toward him. Just a fraction of a second after I shot an ecto-blast above Jazz's head (effectively destroying the compartment that was going to hold the power Jazz was going to give Vlad), I had shot Vlad.

Jazz must've been surprised too, but I wasn't about to take my attention off Vlad while he was down. This fight with him would be the hardest of my life, and I had to hit him with everything I had while he was down. So I sent a ton of shots toward him as fast as I could before he could get up and retaliate.

But it didn't take long for me to see the shield he had thrown up, and once it was up, I knew I had to get Jazz free before anything else happened, or all of this would be in vain. I lunged toward the Machine, glancing at Jazz's face. She was staring at me with wide eyes, and her mouth was gaping open. I hit the button that would free her, and she fell to the floor, rubbing her fists.

"Call Patty," I instructed.

"What—"

"Don't ask—" But that was all I got out before I was pulled backward.

* * *

**Jazz**

There wasn't much I could do but stared wide-eyed at Phantom. Had he just done what I thought he had? He had freed me. Why? After all he'd done, why did he free me.

And why did he want me to call Patty?

I couldn't move. All I could was stand there and watch an extremely angry Plasmius pull Phantom backward into what would probably be the fight of Phantom's after-life.

This couldn't just be a staged battle. There was no way either one of those ghosts would chance me getting away just so they could make me think Phantom was on my side again.

So...what did that mean for Phantom's motives?

I didn't have much time to think about it though, because I was suddenly flying straight through the air. "AHHH!" I screamed, closing my eyes.

I opened them when I realized I wasn't moving anymore. I was in the living room. I stood up straight and turned around. There, standing behind me, was Johnny.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking toward the door that led to the basement.

"Getting you out of there, duh," he answered, exasperated. He pointed downstairs. "That guy wants to kill you! And didn't Phantom tell you to call Patty?"

I was irrational. I knew that because I started rushing back to the door. "Yeah, but he's in trouble. He could be hurt."

Johnny grabbed my arm before I got too far. "Jazz, he can handle his own. _You're _the one in trouble. Now, call Patty."

I turned around to glare at him and tell him to bug off, but when I saw him holding out a cell phone toward me, I paused and put a hand in my pocket. "How'd you get my cell phone?" I asked.

His determined face turned sheepish. "Eh...can't we talk about that later?" he asked.

I glared at him and snatched my phone out of his hand. "Yeah, we have a lot of things to talk about later, but fine, I'll call her." I hit a series of buttons on my phone and stuck it to my ear, mumbling to myself. "But why Patty? Shouldn't we call the police or, I don't know, a ghost hunter?"

Johnny laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked sourly.

He waved it off. "You'll find out later," he promised. I was about to say something back to him, but Patty picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, Patty. It's Jazz. Listen—"

"Jazz?" She sounded worried. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

I sighed. "I'm at Danny's house and—"

The line went dead.

I frowned and looked at the phone. Then I looked at Johnny, who was leaning against the wall. I sighed. Did he always have to look so bored?

"She hung up on me."

He nodded. "Yep. She'll be here faster than should be possible."

I growled. "But it doesn't make sense. What can she do?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He took my hand and pulled me toward the door. "Let's get you out of here."

I pulled against him. I couldn't tell anyone why, but I didn't want to leave. I had to stay to see if Phantom was going to be okay. "No," I told him. He turned to look at me incredulously. "I'm not leaving."

"Isn't that what you were trying to get me to do while you were stuck on that machine?" he asked. "Get you out of here?"

I pursed my lips. I couldn't explain why I didn't want to leave, but I couldn't leave. Things were different than they had been five minutes ago. Phantom had gone against Plasmius to get me off that machine. The least I could do was stick around.

"Phantom would want you to leave," Johnny said, as if he could read my mind. I shook my head stubbornly.

"But I'm not leaving," I repeated.

He let go of my hand and ran his hands through his hair. I heard him mutter something about girls being too hard-headed for their own good before he looked back at me.

"Fine, but we're getting you out of the house."

I conceded, and we headed outside. I turned to look behind me. I hoped Phantom was okay.

No I didn't.

I hoped Danny was okay.

* * *

**Danny**

"Ugh!" I exclaimed as Vlad shoved me against the wall. I fell to the ground but didn't stay down long. I rolled to one side just as Vlad threw another punch.

"What are you doing?" he asked forcefully, probably trying to distract me.

I didn't let it distract me, but I answered anyway. "I'm doing what I've been waiting to do for two years!" Vlad growled and sent an ecto-blast flying towards me. I flew up and out of the way, turning invisible so I could get away from him for a second.

He paused and looked around for me. "What—you've been working against me?" he asked.

I dropped down onto him, sending both of us to the floor. "Yes, Vlad," I answered. He threw me off of him. I sprung back up after I hit the ground. "For two very long years."

He aimed both his fists toward me and shot an ecto-blast. I wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, and it hit me hard. I went careening into one of Vlad's many tables, and the table broke in two.

I groaned and rolled over, standing back up as fast as I could. I had to admit, training with Vlad and fighting him for real were not similar in the least. In training, I knew what Vlad expected me to get done. But now...now I was just fighting for my life.

There was no more talking. Vlad and I went back and forth for what felt like forever. It was probably only a few minutes, but when fighting like this, it felt much more drawn out.

Vlad slammed a fist into my back, and I retaliated by swinging my arm around and hooking him around the neck. I pulled him down to the ground, hoping to smash his head against the floor. Unfortunately, he phased through the floor. I groaned and glanced around, hoping to see him before he—

"AH!" I exclaimed when Vlad phased through the floor right underneath me. He was pushing me towards the ceiling. I braced myself and crashed through it. The debris caused Vlad to fall back, giving me time to catch my breath for half a second.

It felt amazing to finally be able to fight back against Vlad. For so many years I had just had to take the beatings, but now, I could do something about it.

I strained to hear either Vlad below me, or Jazz and...whoever that was...above me. I could hear neither, which frightened me. I was hoping Jazz was long gone, though. Vlad, on the other hand, could be up to anything.

I turned invisible and slipped back through the floor. Why hadn't he followed me?

I could see the lab now, but I still didn't see Vlad anywhere. I turned visible again. Where was he?

My question was answered immediately.

He attacked me from behind and pushed me all the way across the lab. He pushed me onto an examining table that was lying in an upright position. He locked my hands and feet into it. It wasn't comfortable in the least—my hands were above my head. I struggled to get free. I tried turning intangible and tried yanking as hard as I could, but nothing worked.

"Struggle all you want, Daniel," Vlad threatened, tapping the top of the table. "It's completely ghost proof." He paced a few steps and settled behind a large laser pointed directly at the table. "I realize that this is a bit cliché, but I've always wanted to use this laser. And now that you've betrayed me, I believe it's the perfect time."

Even though I knew it wouldn't work, I pulled against my bonds again. Whatever Vlad was about to do couldn't be pleasant.

A red beam shot out of the laser. It hit right underneath my left arm. Steadily, it began moving up. I tried to cringe away from it as far as I could, but it was no use. It eventually caught my arm.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. Hot tears spilled out of my eyes at the intense pain, and my entire body lurched from the impact of the laser against my skin. I could feel it tearing into my suit and tearing up my skin. Just as soon as it started, though, it stopped. I was breathing heavily, and my arm still felt like it was on fire, but I didn't say or do anything, I just glared hate at Vlad.

"You were going to rule with me, Daniel," Vlad commented, talking to me as if he hadn't just inflicted the worst amount of pain I'd ever felt. "As soon as ultimate power was mine, I was planning on rewarding you for the ten years of work you've done. You weren't going to be a minion anymore. You were going to be equal to me.

"And you throw it all away with one flick of the wrist!" Vlad exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Suddenly, he fired the laser back up. This time he aimed it at my lower leg. He steadily moved the laser across my left leg.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed again. It was no use fighting the urge to scream; the pain was just too much. I felt my skin slicing apart again.

"The laser's only on power level two, Daniel!" Vlad yelled over the sound of my screaming.

As soon as the pain ended, I managed to cough out, "You're evil."

Vlad lowered his eyebrows in confusion. "What?" he asked.

"That's why I...turned against you...you're evil," I admitted. I closed my eyes and tried to regain my normal breathing pattern.

Vlad growled and turned a nob. "I'm firing it up all the way now. It's powerful enough to literally slice you in two." He positioned the laser right above my head. "And I'm going to go nice and slow. I hope you enjoyed your first and last bit of heroism, but, just to let you know, I'll get the girl again. You didn't save your sister today, Daniel: you merely prolonged the inevitable."

With that, Vlad hit the button to turn on the laser.

I felt accomplished, no matter what Vlad said and no matter what kind of end I was gong to face today. Patty would keep Jazz safe from Vlad, of that I was certain.

Hopefully, Jazz didn't hate me anymore. Hopefully, she could see that I had never meant to hurt her. My only wish was that I would be able to tell her myself. I wanted to tell her about how hard it had been to not tell her any of this. I wanted to hug her again and made sure she still remembered that I was her long lost brother. I wanted to tell her that I had never wanted to trick her or scare her. I wanted to tell her that if she had told me about coming over here this morning, she never would've been in danger.

I looked at the clock. It was still minutes until eight o'clock. Why had I picked that stupid time?

"By the way, what convinced you I was evil?" Vlad asked. The laser was just inches from my head now.

I was too drained to answer the question, though. As the laser closed off the last couple of inches, I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst.

* * *

**A/N: **So close to the end. So sad...: (((

Yes, you have questions. Yes, I'd love for you to ask them. But not yet. Wait until the story is finished, and I'll be happy to tie up any loose ends I unintentionally leave hanging.

Review please!


	29. Chapter 23: A Ring of Truth

**A/N: **One more chapter to go after this! Boo! Enjoy it while it lasts!

Thanks a ton for the reviews, guys! Makes my day. And thanks to all my anonymous readers out there.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own this show.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Ring of Truth

* * *

**Jazz**

"You are extremely hard-headed, you know that?"

I growled in Johnny's general direction, trying not to let my mind register the fact that I was having a conversation with the same ghost that had scared me two years back.

"Shut up," I demanded.

He sighed. "Why won't you realize that you are in danger?" he asked. "Why won't you get away from this place?"

"Because Phantom is down there, and he's probably getting hurt. You won't let me in the house, so this is best I've got." I was sitting behind the driver's seat of my car in the floorboard. I didn't want to leave the vicinity, but Johnny insisted on my being hidden from sight. My arms were wrapped around my knees, which were beginning to cramp because of the tight space. Johnny was sitting behind the passenger's seat, quite in the same position I was.

He lightly kicked my foot. "_You_ are a danger magnet," he commented.

I stuck my tongue out at him. He was annoying me, but that was probably the best I could hope for at the moment. Somehow, I was able to keep down all the emotion that _should _have been coming out right about now. About how embarrassed I was that I had shown how hurt I was over John to Johnny. And about how much I'd actually like him as Dean. And about how humiliating it was to realize that I wasn't over Johnny in the least. I must have truly liked him. My falling for him while he was Dean showed I had some serious problems.

A car door surprised me, and I jumped. Johnny jumped too. He jumped up and through the car roof.

"Hey!" I called after him. I managed to get myself up and out of the car in just a few seconds. Patty was quickly grabbing something out of her back seat when she glanced up and saw Johnny standing a few feet away from her.

"What are you doing here, punk?" she asked threateningly. She pulled out a huge ecto-gun and pointed it right at him. Not thinking, I jumped in front of Johnny.

"Stop! He saved me!" I exclaimed.

Patty instantly lowered the gun. "Jazz? What are you still doing here?" she questioned.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Johnny beat me to it. "She's hardheaded," was his response. I glared at him.

"You mean you're actually being nice to her this time?" Patty asked as she shut the door and moved toward the house. I perked up at that and followed her.

"This time? You mean you knew he was here two years ago?"

Patty stopped for a second and looked me straight in the eye. "I'm the one who made him leave," she answered. I gasped and glanced at Johnny. He nodded. I looked back at Patty, who sighed. "I wish you didn't have to find all this out this way, but everything you know is about to change. Now, where's Danny?"

"If you mean Phantom, he's in the basement, with Plasmius," I quickly answered. Hey, if Patty had an ecto-gun, I was going to assume she knew everything. But why did Patty have an ecto-gun? And why hadn't I ever seen it?

She looked surprised at my statement, but it was obvious that she was surprised to find out _I _ knew about Danny being Phantom, not at the _fact _that Danny was Phantom. "Alright. Jazz, get out of here. You're who were trying to protect."

"So...you know that I'm in danger? What else—"

She interrupted me. "Let's get through the morning first, Jazz, then I'll answer your questions."

With that, she ran into the house. I started to follow her, but Johnny pulled me back.

"What in the world are you doing?" he asked, looking at me as if I were crazy.

"The woman that might as well be my mother is going in there," I stated. I looked him cold in the eye. "So am I."

He didn't fight me anymore. I saw Patty flit down the stairs to the basement, and I followed behind as quickly as possible. So did Johnny.

Right as Patty got downstairs, I heard Plasmius ask a question. "By the way, what convinced you I was evil?" Right as my foot hit the bottom of the stairs, I heard Patty answer the question, even though it must have been directed toward Phantom.

"I did," she stated simply. I took in my surroundings. Plasmius and Phantom were both in the far back-right corner of the lab, both staring at the sudden intruders. Phantom was bound to an upright table and had a laser threatening to cut him in half. That sight made unthinkingly shouted out.

"DANNY!" My eyes widened and everything seemed to fade away at that moment except for me and Phantom. He looked right at me, worry in his eyes. He was probably worried that I was still here, just like Patty and Johnny were. But that wasn't what was so amazing about this moment.

I had called him Danny.

At that moment, I knew for certain that whatever he had done, he had done with reason. I didn't hate him. I only thought I hated him. Sure, he wasn't the four year old little brother I had lost ten years ago, but he was who my little brother had grown up to be. Maybe the situation wasn't ideal and maybe it was strange. But it was Danny. Phantom was Danny. Phantom wasn't some evil ghost that had taken my brother away from me.

Danny offered me a weak smile, and I responded with one of my own, then the world sped back up.

Patty aimed her large gun at Plasmius's laser and shot, effectively destroying the laser that would've cut Danny in half. Plasmius was standing in complete surprise.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"You mean you don't recognize me?" Patty questioned. She stepped closer with her ecto-gun trained right on Vlad. She looked angry. I had seen Patty mad about me stealing a cookie before supper, and I had seen her slightly leery about me getting close to Dean, but I had never seen her full-blown angry.

Slowly, realization floated across Plasmius's face. "You're the one I took Daniel from," he stated simply.

"No; I'm the one you _stole _Danny from," Patty corrected. She unleashed her weapon again, and a purple energy beam blasted Plasmius away from his now smoking and unusable laser. Plasmius hit the ground, looking surprised; he didn't let his surprise linger though.

He jumped back up and shot an ecto-blast at Patty. She ducked and rolled underneath the blast and landed just feet away from Plasmius. She then pulled a handful of small balls out of a belt on her waist and threw them toward Plasmius. The balls exploded around Plasmius, causing him to shriek. He stepped back, trying to get away from the explosion. Patty followed him with her ecto-gun.

She stopped the barrage after just a few moments, though. Plasmius glared at her and rushed toward her, his hands outstretched and throwing ecto-blasts every second he got. Patty evaded the blasts, jumping around like I'd never seen her move before. She fell into a corner, flicked her hand to her belt and pulled out a spray bottle.

Plasmius continued flying straight towards her. I would've looked away if I hadn't have been so worried about what was going to happen next.

Patty held up the bottle once Plasmius was just a few feet away. As soon as she sprayed, Plasmius stopped dead in his tracks. He fell to the floor and started coughing. I watched with wide eyes. How had something that _simple _stopped him?

He gradually stopped writhing. In fact, he was holding completely still. I could see his eyes darting across the room. "W-what did you do to me?" he asked.

Patty smirked. "Like it? It's kind of like perfume, except it has this really cool ingredient that causes ghosts to be temporarily paralyzed."

Though I was still wondering how and why Patty possessed all this ghost fighting equipment, at the moment, I couldn't be anything less than completely thankful that she did.

Patty stepped closer to Danny and hit a button that released him. He fell to the floor and grabbed hold of his left leg and cringed as he moved his left arm.

Then Patty bent down and handcuffed Plasmius with a glowing pair of handcuffs. She took hold of the glowing chain in between the cuffs and began dragging him toward the stairs. "Don't worry," she comforted. "You'll get feeling back in a couple of hours. Or...well, I guess it depends on how strong this perfume was. Oh well. Six hours max, I promise."

"This isn't over," Plasmius said to Danny. "Not by a long shot."

Patty looked away from Plasmius and toward me. "And you, didn't I tell you to get out of here?" she asked.

I stepped out of the way to allow Patty to get to the stairs. "Yeah," I admitted. "But you had a bit of explaining to do, and I wanted to watch whatever it was you were going to do with an ecto-gun that huge."

She pushed Plasmius into the stairwell and turned back around. She paced back toward Danny. I followed her, curious, and I could feel Johnny following behind me.

"Danny, human," Patty instructed.

He complied easily and, before I knew it, my black-haired, blue-eyed brother was sitting on the ground in front of me with a nasty burn on his arm. He rolled his pants leg up to reveal a similar burn. Patty went to work on the wound.

I just took in the strange scene. I had a million questions I wanted to ask all three of the people around me, but I didn't know where to start or what to ask, so I just stood there, staring at my foster mom (who was apparently also a ghost hunter) taking care of my long, lost brother (who was apparently also a ghost).

"First order of business," Patty began, still seeming to direct most of her attention to Danny's leg. "Why are you here?"

Patty hadn't said a name, but we all knew who she was talking to. I glanced at Johnny, who glanced at me. He took a deep breath.

"He was trying to get Jazz killed, that's what," Danny answered for him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know Vlad wanted to kill her. He never said that. And if I remember correctly, you're the one who pushed me out of the way of saving her the first time."

"And if I hadn't, Vlad would've killed _me_, and Jazz would be on her way next."

"Oh, you don't think I could've held my own against Vlad?"

"No. I didn't hold my own, and I've been training with him for ten years. How long have you—"

"Both of you, shut up!" Patty exclaimed. She had moved onto Danny's arm, but at the moment, she was looking back and forth between the arguing boys. "Danny, I asked Johnny."

Johnny sighed and started again. "Vlad came to me about three and a half weeks ago. He said that he was working on a special plan that involved someone I knew." He threw a glance at me, then pointed at Danny. "He said that he was afraid you wouldn't go through the plan because she was your sister. He only needed me for back-up. I didn't want to help him because I knew Jazz here wasn't going to put up with me and because I didn't want her to get hurt.

"But he promised that after he was finished, I could have her forever. He said he would give her to me." I glared at Johnny, angry, then I shot a glance toward the stairwell, where I could just see the edge of Plasmius's cape. How dare he try to give me away! "I agreed. I came here with him and he laid out all his plans. He had done some research and had found a family a long way off from here that had just died in a fire. He had sent some of his ghost agents to get the teenage boy.

"I was supposed to go undercover and do whatever he said, so I became Dean." Johnny turned and looked at Dean's body, that was still just lying on the ground. Patty gasped.

"You've been in our house this entire time?" she asked.

"Yeah, ironic, isn't it?" Again, I was learning to hate irony. "Last week, Vlad told me to somehow get you to come over here this morning, so I did." He seemed finished, but Danny picked up on the story.

"But, in his defense, once he realized Jazz was in danger, he did try to free her." Patty nodded. She was now just staring at Johnny.

"How come my tracker never picked you up inside the house?" she asked. "And what about the relatives you were going to go live with? And the agency worker?"

"Well, everyone involved was overshadowed by a ghost, so the people won't remember anything. And about your tracker..." Johnny slipped the gold ring off his right ring finger and tossed it to Patty. All of a sudden, a beeping noise filled the air. Surprised, Patty pulled out a small device from her belt and pressed a button. The beeping stopped. She glanced at the ring in her hand.

"Explain," she stated.

Johnny smiled. "I told Vlad that you were a ghost hunter and that I wouldn't be able to sneak by you so he gave me that ring. It's one of only three. It's a special ring that masks a ghost's ecto-signature from detection. The Ancients—"

"Who?" Patty asked.

"A group of really old, really powerful ghosts," Johnny explained. "Anyway, the Ancients created three of these rings a long time ago, and gave them to select ghosts—ghosts they thought were worthy enough to have them. Over time, these ghosts have either lost the rings, and other ghosts found them, or traded them to other ghosts.

"Vlad told me that he actually had two of these rings one time. He said that fifteen years ago, he traded one to some ghost that gave him the Star prophecy. He had worn the other one everywhere until he gave it to me. That way, no ghost hunter could ever pick up on the fact that he was half-ghost." At this, Patty glanced down at Danny, who gave her a knowing look. I was getting tired of the secrets.

"And it really works well," Patty noted.

"Yeah, I even tested it the day Vlad gave it to me." Now, Johnny was looking between me and Danny. "You know that night you went to that restaurant? Nasty Burger? I was right outside, and I took the ring off for just half a second. And—"

"That was you?" Danny asked, almost jumping up. "Well, that explains a lot."

I had no clue what he was talking about, but I was starting to get used to that now. I sighed and turned to Johnny. I was about to say something, when Patty's cell phone rang. She answered.

"You here?" she asked, standing up. "Good. I'll be right up." She flipped the phone closed. "Sorry, guys. I have to take this guy into custody. The van's here to pick him up." With that, Patty left, leaving me alone with two guys that, twenty minutes ago, I thought was trying to kill me.

"You were going to give me that ring," I reminded Johnny.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I offered, but I knew you wouldn't take it," he stated.

I put my hands on my hip angrily. "And what's that supposed to mean? You _knew _for a fact that I wouldn't take it?"

He nodded, a solemn look on his face. "You were still too hung up on the past to take the ring. I only offered because it would make me seem more legitimate."

"Hung up on the past?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. I didn't like where this was going.

He looked me straight in the eye. "Hung up on me." We stared at each other, neither willing to admit to being weaker than the other. I'm not sure how long we stood that way, but I finally lost. I hung my head.

"I know," I stated simply, looking back up at him pitifully. "Your dieing really tore me up, and, as much as I hate to admit this—" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath "—I really missed you. Even after you came back and tried to talk me into dating you again, I really missed you. Even though you scared me to death when you popped into my room, I missed you, John." I swallowed. "I never wanted to let you go, but I had to. Death is how people part, and your death is how we should've parted."

He took my hand and sighed hard. "I hate this," he admitted. "But at least you still get to be alive."

"Yeah...but only because of your sacrifice. Look, I said this the last time I saw you, but I didn't really mean it, and even though I'm extremely mad and embarrassed that I fell so hard for Dean, I'm going to say this: Thank-you, for saving me two years ago and for saving me today. Without you, I wouldn't be alive."

He smiled sourly. "I guess I need to leave, don't I?" he asked.

I nodded but smiled. "Yeah, that would probably be for the best. But...you don't have to leave thinking I hate you, okay?"

He took a deep breath. "Okay. You know, over the past two years, I've heard about ghosts having obsessions of some sort. I figured out your mine." My lips parted, but I didn't say anything. "But I think I'm strong enough to tell you that this is the last time I'll ever see you."

"And I think I'm strong enough to tell you that this is a good thing."

"Last time I saw you, I said you were lucky, but I never told you why," he began. "He looked over his shoulder, toward the direction Patty had gone. "It was because you had someone there who cared about you."

With that, Johnny faded from view.

* * *

**A/N: **Now everyone go back and read the last part of Intermission III in this brand new light. :) Oh, I love the feeling of finally revealing the mystery. It's so much fun! But it's also sad...no things to clear up.

Just kidding. There's an entire chapter of wrap-up. After all, what do we really know about Patty? And Jazz and Danny haven't uttered hardly a word to each other.

Bye Johnny!

Review please!


	30. Chapter 24: Truth Be Told

**A/N: **Loooong chapter. Oh well. There wasn't a good place to break so I didn't, enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

Chapter 24: Truth Be Told

* * *

**Danny**

I watched Johnny and Jazz talk, keeping quiet the entire time. Now it was my turn to be confused. All morning, the confused person had been Jazz's role to fill, but now, I was the one playing it.

I slowly stood and leaned against the table I had been strapped to just minutes before. Patty had done a wonder on my cuts. I only wished that I had let her work on me two years ago when she had found me beaten up. Why hadn't I, again?

Oh right. Back then, I had still been working for Vlad.

Speaking of that, I couldn't believe I was finally free of him. Sure, it hadn't happened exactly how me and Patty had planned it, but it had still happened. Jazz was alive, and I was free.

And freedom felt...exhilarating.

Jazz was staring at the spot where Johnny had just disappeared. She looked like she was in a trance. I had to say something eventually. At some point, we were going to have to talk about everything that had gone on today. So I smiled and said, jokingly, "He an old boyfriend or something?"

She snapped out of her trance and snapped her head in my direction. She was glaring at me, but not in hate this time. This time, she looked more annoyed and angry. My smiled disappeared. "That's either a 'Never mention this again' look or an 'I'm mad enough to kill you' look."

She paused for a second and shrugged. "Kinda both," she admitted.

"Okay, look. You were never supposed to be in danger. This wasn't—" But she cut me off when she ran towards me and hugged me.

"Oh, Danny, I'm so glad your okay!" she exclaimed.

I tentatively hugged her back. "I...figured you would be mad at me," I told her.

She pulled back and ruffled my hair. "Of course I'm not mad at you, silly."

I smiled. "Real—"

"I'm furious at you!" she yelled. My smile slipped back off my face. "But...seeing that your my brother, I'm going to give you the chance to explain yourself. So...start explaining," she demanded.

"I'd love to, but...I don't actually know the entire story," I admitted. We both looked toward the staircase, where Patty had gone earlier. "Let's get back to your house, and we'll both explain everything, I promise."

Jazz sighed. "Fine."

I knew the only thing to do now was get to Patty and start explaining everything to Jazz. Whether she liked it or not, what we told her was finally going to be the truth.

* * *

**Jazz**

Danny and I were sitting on the couch in the living room. Patty had pulled a kitchen chair into the room and was sitting in front of us. When we got here, we had discovered a note from Sam saying she was going over to Tucker's for a hour or two and would be back later.

Obviously, no one knew where to begin.

"So...why don't we start with the fact that you've been tricking me for, I don't know, forever," I finally began.

Danny looked like he was about to say something, but Patty lifted her finger. "I'll start," she conceded. "It'd probably be better to start at the beginning—the part neither of you know."

Danny and I glanced at each other and nodded. I had always wondered about that night Danny had been adopted. I had always wondered why Patty had let Vlad take Danny so forcefully.

Now I was about to find out.

"Vlad came by one day looking to adopt. I was impressed with him. He looked like a very fine man who would take good care of any kid he decided to adopt." At that, Danny scoffed. "Well, he took a particular liking to Danny. I didn't know why, but I knew I didn't want him to adopt you, Danny." She put a hand on Danny's leg, and paused. "And I wasn't going to let him. I told him that you two were siblings and that it would be best if you weren't separated. But even though he looking satisfied with that, he wasn't by a long shot."

. . .

Patty smiled and hoped for the best. Later that night, she got the kids ready for bed and turned in early herself, hoping for a good night's rest. She fell asleep quickly, but sometime during the night, she jolted awake.

Patty sighed, not realizing what had woken her up at first. But when she stretched and opened her eyes, she caught sight of a glowing figure standing to her left. She shrieked, but it was cut off when the figure clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm going to have to ask you not to do that again," an eerie voice hissed. Patty nodded, and the hand fell away. She looked at the figure. He was dressed in all white, with a billowing red cape behind him. His swept hair and villainous fangs made him look like a vampire, and his blue face made him look dead. His red eyes bore into hers.

"Who are you?" Patty whispered.

"My name is Plasmius, and you need to listen carefully," he demanded. "A man named Vlad Masters is going to come by tomorrow and take a child named Danny Fenton, and you're going to let him do it. You will find a large sum of money sometime tomorrow to pay for this service. Do you understand?"

No longer afraid for only herself, Patty responded, "You lost me at 'you're going to let him do it.' Why would I give a child to a man who uses a bully to get the job done?"

The figure smirked. "Because if you don't, I'll kill his sister."

Patty gasped. "You wouldn't."

The figure stepped to the side, revealing a still-sleeping Jazz lying in the floor behind him. "Jazz!" Patty exclaimed, scrambling off the bed.

The man pushed her back down and stepped back in front of Jazz. "You have a choice to make."

"You monster! Why does Vlad want Danny this bad? He could've just adopted him like normal!"

The man shook his head. "You wouldn't have let him get away with just one of the two siblings, and that's all he wanted—Danny."

Patty shook her head, closing her eyes to stop the tears. Then, something clicked in the back of her mind. She looked at the man. "You're a ghost, aren't you?" she asked.

The ghost frowned and took a step toward her. "How would you know?"

"I've done a little research." After the Fentons had left their children with her, Patty had researched ghosts a little bit, trying to figure out why the ghosts were more appealing than children. She had never figured it out.

"If you alert the police or a ghost hunter, not only will this child perish, but so will all the others." The ghost began fading from view. "But I'll let you live so you can live with the guilt. Be ready, tomorrow at six. Have a good night."

Patty stood there, shaking. A million thoughts ran through her mind—thoughts of running away with the kids. But that would be silly. She wouldn't get far with one child, let alone two or five, and people would believe her to be the kidnaper. No one would ever believe her story.

Patty bent down and picked up the fragile Jazz, and began to cry. What could she do? She didn't have any choice but to give Danny up.

Patty collected herself as much as she could and prepared to make tomorrow the best day ever for Danny.

She opened the door to Jazz and Danny's room and set Jazz carefully back in bed.

Thoroughly shaken, Patty could no longer sleep. She glanced at the clock on Jazz's bedside table. It loudly proclaimed in red block numerals that it was 2:00 AM.

* * *

**Danny**

There were so many unanswered questions about that night. I had been mad at Patty for so long about letting Vlad adopt me, but now it all made sense. She had done it to protect Jazz's life. I closed my eyes. I couldn't blame what Patty had done; if I had been old enough to understand, I would've done the same thing.

But it was extremely ironic that Vlad hadn't wanted to adopt Jazz—of course, Vlad had had no way of knowing she would be the Star.

I glanced at Jazz, who was staring at Patty with tears in her eyes.

"You mean, he was going to kill me?" she asked. She looked at me. "How did he know that Danny was the one he needed?" she asked.

To that, I shrugged. "I've asked myself that question for years." I turned my attention to Patty. "But thank-you. Thank-you so much for saving Jazz's life. I was mad at you, but it makes sense now. Thank you."

Patty nodded and bit her lip. "I'm not finished though."

"Oh right," Jazz interrupted sarcastically. "The whole, you're a ghost hunter thing."

Patty nodded.

* * *

**Jazz**

This explanation I was ready to hear.

"A few weeks after Danny was taken, I knew I would never be able to let myself be bullied by a ghost again. I had never understood why your parents enjoyed ghost hunting, but now, I had a reason to figure it out. So I did a little research.

"It was hard to find any credible sources anywhere, but I eventually found something called the Guys in White. Supposedly, they're top-secret government ghost hunters, but they aren't much of a secret. Even though they were called the _Guys _in White, I called around, asking about becoming a ghost hunter. They questioned me like crazy, asking about my background and why I wanted to join them. I gave them the complete truth.

"They finally directed me to an agency called the Gals in White. I gave them a call, and they set up an interview not far from here. I went through all the same things again, and they finally allowed me to begin training to be a Gal in White. It had been about a year and a half since the day Danny had been adopted.

"Two years later, after going through extensive training, I was awarded the rank of Field Worker. I was supposed to stay at home and hunt ghosts from here, which was exactly what I wanted. My job was simple enough, though not as mindless as I had been told the Guys in White thought it was. I was supposed hunt ghosts down and determine if they could be reformed. If they could, get it done. If not, which was usually the case, eradicate the smaller ones and call in the big guns on the bigger ones. That's what I did with Vlad.

"In the years since I began, I had been hoping to see Vlad again. Hoping—"

"Did you ever see proof that he was half-ghost?" I asked.

Patty smiled. "I figured it out the day he took Danny, and when I joined the Gals in White, I realized he was a big name ghost. The name 'Vlad Plasmius' screamed at me from the top of the Most Wanted List."

"But how did you keep it a secret from me all these years?" I asked.

Patty smirked. "I have my ways."

A beat of silence passed, and Patty looked at Danny.

"Your next," she stated simply. "You haven't told me anything about your life after you were taken."

"That reminds me," I interrupted. "You two know each other?"

They exchanged a smile. "Yeah," Danny said. "But I'll get to that in a minute. It's part of the story."

"So how stupid did I seem for introducing you two?" I ask.

Danny smiled. "Pretty stupid—ow!" he exclaimed when Patty punched him. "But it's okay. It's not your fault you didn't know." I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, no kidding," I complained. "Wouldn't keeping me safe have been easier if I had known everything?"

Patty shook her head. "The less people that know what's going on, the easier it is to fool the person you need to fool."

"In other words, Vlad," Danny finished. He ran a hand through his hair. "After Vlad took me, it was pretty normal to begin with. He let me get used to the house and let me get used to living in a different place. But it wasn't long before he started doing experiments on me. He would drag me down to his lab and experiment on me day and night. He told me that was what every kid had to do.

"I still don't know where he got the machines and technology to do it, but he made me half-ghost."

"You've been like this since you were four?" I asked, incredulously.

He nodded. "Five, actually. He told me I was five when he changed me. Anyway, he began training me. It was easy at first, but as time went on, Vlad got more and more impatient with me. He started getting mad if I didn't respond to him immediately, and he wanted everything I did to be perfect. There were no exceptions."

I listened intently, as did Patty. Danny seemed lost in another world.

"He was Master, and what Master said, went. He told me that I was his servant, so I was supposed to bow to him and not look him directly in the eye unless he told me to. And we kept on training and training. Pretty soon, Vlad told me about this prophecy he had uncovered. When completed, it would yield him ultimate power. But we had to capture people, and he couldn't be the one to capture them. He had to have an accomplice for that part. Capturing people wasn't strange to me at all, though. I figured it was normal. He told me it was normal. I thought other people were the strange ones.

"We began capturing people two years ago. They were called the Points. They fueled the Machine the Star would be killed on. Soon enough, we found where the Star was." He looked at me. "And it turned out to be my sister." He smiled.

"But wait, you didn't explain working against him? Was it because I was the Star?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Two years ago, before I captured the first Point, I ran into Patty in Florida."

"Remember the week Tucker took you and Sam to space camp?" Patty asked. "You two were the only kids here at the time, so I decided to take a vacation to Florida."

"You think I could forget Space Camp?" I asked, shuddering. "Excluding today, that was the worst week of my life."

Patty laughed. "Well, if it weren't for that week, you would be dead right now. Anyway, I was walking downtown one night, going back to my hotel, when my ghost tracker went berserk. I followed it and found this ghost kid lying on the ground. Of course, I had no idea who he was. I talked to him awhile and threatened him a little bit, and soon found out, thanks to him being so loose-lipped—"

"Hey!" Danny protested.

"—that Plasmius was his Master. Thanks to my previous knowledge of half-ghosts, and the fact that Vlad had adopted him, I immediately knew it was Danny. But I couldn't say anything right away."

"Yeah, you didn't even give me your real name," Danny interrupted.

"It's not my fault that ghosts had made me paranoid enough that I thought I needed to start using a false-name," Patty defended herself.

"Anyway," Danny continued, looking back at me. "A couple nights later, I was out tracking the Point as a human. She comes up to me and demands to know why her ghost tracker picked me up. I tried to convince her she was crazy, but she ended up catching me in a lie. She gave me a contact card and vanished."

"A few days later, he shows up at my hotel. We only had time for a thirty minute talk, but I convinced him to turn his back on Vlad."

"Did you ever tell him you knew who he was?" I asked, curiously.

Danny shook his head. "She left that part out," he said, sarcastically.

"I told him he would have to work undercover with Vlad for however long it took to get to the final stage of their plan. I knew if Danny left Vlad, it would alert Vlad that something was up, and he would be on higher alert. And if Danny stayed with him, instead of me never being in the know, I would have eyes and ears in the place. This way, I always knew what Vlad was up to."

I thought about the story for a second, then questioned, "But how did you know Danny would hold true to his word?"

At this, Patty looked intently at Danny. "I just had to trust him, and it turned out to be the best thing I could've done. Imagine my surprise when he shows up here, looking to capture you as the Star."

"Yeah, but Johnny messed our plans up. Patty was going to be at the house by eight this morning. We had no idea you were planning on getting there any earlier."

I pursed my lips and suddenly lifted Danny's left sleeve.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked. I stared at the hand-shaped scar on his shoulder.

"How'd you get that?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't obey Vlad once. Why?"

I shook my head. "Of course. Everything else he told me that day was a lie." I sighed. Danny looked confused. "Vlad told me that Phantom gave you that scar when you were little."

Danny smiled a half-smile and tried not to laugh. "We have a lot more catching up to do that you first thought."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Patty suddenly jumped up. "Oh, before I forget!" she exclaimed. She reached into her pocket and handed something to Danny. He opened his hand and revealed Johnny's gold ring.

"You're giving it to me?" he asked

She shrugged. "Well, I don't have any need for it. Besides, this way, no other random ghost hunter will pick you up."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, slipping it onto his right ring finger. "But the last time that happened, it saved my life." He smirked.

"But who can guarantee that to ever happen again, huh?" Patty asked, seeming enthusiastic.

Danny shook his head. "Guess your right."

"Now, who wants freshly baked cookies? It'll only take me a minute to—"

The door opened then, and Sam and Tucker walked inside. "There you are," Sam greeted. "Neither of you were here this morning when I got up. What, you just decided to leave me alone?" Once she caught sight of the three of us all gathered together, she paused, and frowned. "What's going on? Some kind of heart to heart?"

"I suppose we should tell them too," Patty commented, looking between me and Danny.

"Tell us what?" Tucker asked.

"Let's just say, don't jump to any conclusions," I suggested. I leaned on Danny's shoulder. We looked at each other and smiled. "Because it's true Tuck: people aren't always what they seem."

* * *

**A/N: **Just to give you an idea of how long this story has been playing through my head, I had the end of Chapter 21 thought out for two years. I put a lot of time into it, and I'm extremely proud of it. I hope everyone has truly enjoyed the story. Give me your thoughts, please!

Before I end this thing (cause I still have the epilogue to go) I want to ask all my loyal readers if I missed anything. I hope I didn't, because I wrote down everything I needed to get in, but if you still have a question, please ask it. I don't wanna leave you hanging.


	31. Epilogue

**A/N: **I'm so upset to see my baby go! :( I had fun; hopefully, you did too! Thanks a ton to all my readers and everyone who reviewed and faved. It means a ton that you care enough about this story to let me know it. Announcements at the end.

**Disclaimer: **Even though I didn't own Danny Phantom at the beginning of this story, I have a big announcement for everyone: I STILL DON'T OWN IT! :)

* * *

Epilogue: Jazz

* * *

All in all, October had been a very strange and life-changing month. From meeting a kid named Danny, to finding out he was my brother, to finding out he was half-ghost. Everything had been so strange, yet very awesome. I wouldn't have changed the craziness for the world.

At some point after our heart-to-heart, I took Patty aside and asked her something I had always wanted to ask her.

"Did you adopt me?" I asked, leaning on the wall behind me.

She bit her lip and looked away for a moment. Then she looked back up at me. "Yes," she finally answered.

"I thought so, but why?" I questioned.

"Because...because I always wanted to hold on to the hope that I would be able to bring you and Danny together again."

I smiled. "Thank-you, Patty." I hugged her. "But I have another question too."

The answer to the last question I'd asked her had been nothing short but satisfactory.

She was going to begin training me to be a Gal in White, along with Sam, who had taken the fact that Danny was Phantom in nothing less than Sam-stride.

Tucker was the more leery of the two, but that was understandable. He had been the first one of us to realize Phantom was "supposedly" up to no good. But Tucker would be able to handle the revelation in time. There was finally someone here that could compete on the same level of weirdness he was on. Problem was, even with Danny's ghost powers, I was still betting Tucker was stranger.

Danny was going to move back to the foster home, but we had some serious business to take care of before he settled in permanently. We had to return all of the Points to their homes, including one that lived in England.

So, I had finally gotten the one thing I wanted most in life: to see Danny again—only it was much better than I had ever dreamed possible. I couldn't wait to start the next chapter of my life.

* * *

Epilogue: Danny

* * *

I was sitting on my new bed, in my new (yet old) home, waiting.

There wasn't much I could do but wait. Patty said the girl was going to be okay, but I still had to wait.

I still couldn't believe it was all over. Finally, there was no more Vlad. I didn't have to worry about him any longer. All I had to worry about was my new life with my big sister and all the kinks we would eventually work out.

I had been nervous that she would hate me forever, but thankfully, she had been able to see past the ghost aura and see me, her brother.

I had asked Patty where Vlad was being taken. She had told me not to worry.

"He'll be taken to headquarters. The most top-notch ghost prison is located there. Don't worry, Danny. It's over."

I sighed, hoping she was right.

Speaking of hope, I was glad I had decided to hope. Even though Patty had told me that hope sometimes hurt, I was glad that hope, in this case, had led me to my long-lost sister.

A quiet moan alerted me that the girl was awake. I looked toward her.

She sat up slowly and looked around groggily. "Where I am?" she asked, sleepily.

I smiled. "You're safe," I answered.

She snapped her eyes toward me and jumped. "Who are you?" she asked.

I kept my smile in place. "You mean you don't recognize me?" I questioned.

She shook her head and tried to smile happily. "No, but I can get to know you. Do you wanna get to know me?"

I laughed a little. Then I stood up and transformed into Phantom. The girl's eyes widened at my revelation. "No way...you're that ghost from...wait, how long did you take me hostage?"

"It's been about a year," I admitted. "I'll bet your parents are worried sick."

"How come I don't remember anything?" she asked.

"We kept you knocked out most of the time. Sorry about that." She shook her head and stood up.

"Oh, it's fine. Did you finally decide you wanted to take me home? Or are you about to use for me for whatever reason you took me captive?"

"Neither," I answered truthfully. "Last year, I told you that I was doing what I was doing because I wanted to. I can finally explain what I meant by that." She sat back down and threw all her attention on me. "I was working undercover for someone—someone that I wanted to work for. I wanted to take you hostage because it meant we would be one step closer to finishing everything and one step closer to getting you back home."

She smiled. "Good. I'm glad your doing what you want. So...when are you taking me home?"

"Any day now," I told her. I turned back human and opened the door. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to my sister."

I pulled the last of my suitcases out of Patty's car and closed the trunk. That was it. That was the last time I would ever step foot in Vlad's house again. Thank goodness.

Jazz bounded out of the house and picked up one of the suitcases. "I like that girl. She's really nice," Jazz commented. I agreed, and we both started toward the house. I got to the bottom step and paused.

It finally hit me.

I was moving back in with my sister. Sure, the fix wasn't perfect. Mom and Dad were still out in the world, choosing to hunt ghosts instead of raise us, but I was back where I belonged—or at least, where I used to belong. I wasn't sure now. Did I still belong here? I was so different than the time when I walked out of this house. Just because this used to be my home didn't mean it could be my home now, could it?

Jazz noticed my hesitation.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's just...I don't know if I belong here anymore, Jazz." It felt amazing finally being able to be completely honest with her.

Jazz smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Danny, you've always belonged here. You've just spent the last ten years in a place where you don't belong. You're confused. It's understandable, but you'll soon figure out that this is going to be exactly like you never left."

I smiled at her. "You think so?"

"I know so!" she exclaimed. She skipped up the steps and into the door.

Smiling, because I knew she was right, I followed her up the stairs and into my new life.

* * *

**A/N: **Aw...it's over.

But not _really_.

The story may be over, but the stories are not. How interested would you be in reading the extras I've written for you? Okay, honestly, the extras I've planned. I have some written and some are only panned out. I hope to get them posted in time.

Also, considering I've been planning this story for years now, I've had ample time to plan and prepare two other stories. Now, does that mean there is anything written? Sadly, no. I really want to chug out the other two for you, but with my great time-managing skills, there's a chance it won't happen. That's why this story could also easily be a stand-alone.

Let me just say that "Gals in White" will be the second installment of "The Searching Trilogy"...if I ever post it.

Thanks a bunch! You all mean wonders to me!


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